Caramelized Onion, Cheddar & Soft Boiled Egg Sandwich

I love my Tom Colicchio "Think Like a Chef" cookbook.  I was inspired many years ago by his balsamic onion marmalade from Gramercy Tavern and created my own version of caramelized onions which I often add to scrambled eggs with cheese. 

This week, for a part of our Substack Brunch recipe, I used my caramelized onions to top broiled cheddar toasts along with soft boiled eggs.  This savory and sweet brunch item is easy to make and tastes like you are in a french cafe in Paris. 

I recommend batching the onions ahead of time, so they are prepped and ready in your refrigerator. 

recipe serves 4

INGREDIENTS

CARAMELIZED ONIONS

• 4 small sweet onions peeled and sliced thin
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

EGG & TOAST

• 4 free range organic eggs
• 4 pieces of fresh sourdough sliced bread
• thin slices of cheddar to cover one side of each toast

METHOD

CARAMELIZED ONIONS (Can be batched ahead of time and stored in refrigerator.)

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over low heat. 
2. Add the onions, salt and pepper. 
3. Stir occasionally for 15 minutes. (Adjust stove to make sure the onions are not burning the bottom of the pan, but they start to become translucent.)
4. Add the maple syrup and balsamic vinegar to the caramelizing onions and continue to stir occasionally for 45 more minutes. (Continue to monitor the temperature.)
5. Store these caramelized onions in the refrigerator and you can warm in the oven or pan for a few minutes before serving.

THE DISH 

ONIONS

1. Remove caramelized onions from refrigerator and bring to room temperature or warm in oven or pan. Place in a small serving bowl.

EGGS

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and add 4 eggs for 7 minutes. 
2. Set an ice bath ready for the eggs and after 7 minutes spoon each egg into ice bath. 
3. Remove eggs from ice bath, peel and cut into halves and sprinkle salt. (I used Maldon's Garlic Salt.)   

CHEDDAR TOAST

1. Turn convection oven on broil at 400F.
2. Take 4 slices of toast and place thin slices of cheddar over each one to cover the top. 
3. Place cheddar toast into oven with cheddar facing up, for 3 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and spread cheddar to make the melting cheddar evenly spread, then place back to broil for 1-2 minutes longer until you see the toast edges brown.

PLATE 

1. Remove the cheddar toast from the oven and cut each slice in half. 
2. Serve cut cheesy bread next to bowl of caramelized onion and halved soft boiled eggs to make your own, absolutely delicious, open face or closed sandwich. 

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