I’ve always been something of a traditionalist when it comes to flavor combinations – peanut butter and jelly, wasabi and soy sauce, bacon and, well, anything… I’m down with the tried and true duos. 

But in the spirit of keeping it fresh, I submit to you, gentle reader, another combination for the ages: goat cheese and caramelized onions. 

Because like other great taste-buddies, these two are different in every way.

But when brought together, they are nothing sort of spectacular. 

Then when you combine them on top of a crispy, chewy Mario Batali crust (which, by the way, has just replaced the January 2009 Gourmet pizza crust recipe as my all-time favorite homemade crust recipe) and allow them to play with some green apple slices and basil for freshness…

…and then drizzle the whole thing with a reduction of balsamic vinegar before popping it onto a hot pizza stone (still on the parchment by the way, so you don’t have to fight with floppy dough and toppings on a 400 degree pizza stone – an amazing technique that I did learn from my now second favorite pizza crust recipe that every other cook has probably have been doing for years – I’m not sure how I missed the memo!)…

The results are just wonderful. The onions bake into the crust and caramelize just a little more, taking on a deeper, more complex flavor. The goat cheese smoothes over them like silk, playing well with the sweet-tart flavor from the apples and balsamic. This was such a pleasure to eat, and I encourage you to do so. You need not cook the onions for the full four hours. As a substitute, caramelize red onions and a little honey for about 30 minutes.

Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza
Crust recipe from Mario Batali on food.com

1/4 cup light red or white wine, (Fiano di Avellino is what Batali recommends, I used a Sauvignon Blanc that I happened to have open – anything dry should be fine)

3/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 ounces fresh yeast

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

3 1/2 cups flour

4 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled

1 green apple, sliced thin

1 1/2 cup caramelized onions (or 2 large yellow onions, olive oil, honey and salt)

1 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

To make crust:

Place wine, water and yeast in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the honey, salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix well to combine. Add 1 cup of the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until it becomes a loose batter. Add 2 more cups of the flour and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, incorporating as much flour as you can with the wooden spoon.

Bring the dough together by hand and turn out onto a floured board or marble surface. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until dough is smooth and firm. Place in a clean, lightly-oiled bowl, using remaining tablespoon of oil and cover with a towel. Let rise in the warmest part of the kitchen for 45 minutes.

To make pizza:

Prepare the balsamic vinegar reduction as the pizza dough is rising. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm vinegar for about 5 minutes. It will begin to simmer and steam. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare caramelized onions (unless you have pre-made them) by cooking two chopped onions in a saute pan over low to medium heat in two tablespoons of olive oil. Stir in 2 tablespoons of honey and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent and turning golden brown.

When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place either a pizza stone or an overturned baking sheet in the oven to heat. Lightly flour the dough and stretch it with your fingers over a piece of parchment Until it is at your desired thickness. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

Distribute the caramelized onions evenly across the dough, stopping half an inch from the edges. Do the same with the apple slices and then press the onions and apples into the dough slightly. Crumble the goat cheese over the top and sprinkle the basil. Drizzle the reduction of balsamic vinegar over the top.

Slide the pizza on the parchment onto the pizza stone or baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is beginning to turn golden brown. Allow the pizza to rest for five minutes before serving.

Good things take time. This good thing took four hours.

The recipe came from an article in the LA Times that I found on a geek message board that I frequent. All of the reader commentary was along the lines of “who the heck is crazy enough to spend four hours making this?”

Ahem…

I read the article shortly before visiting the greenmarket at Union Square on Saturday, where the pickings were, well, what you would expect from those poor freezing vendors in January. And feeling less than inspired and even depressed by bin after bin of potatoes (24 different kinds!), I became fixated on the idea of caramelized onions.

Which is how I wound up purchasing 5 pounds of yellow onions.

And chopping them up into quarter inch strips.

And setting the timer every fifteen minutes for the next four hours…

While they slowly changed from white to golden…

… I returned to the stove each time the timer went off to stir.

And just when I was about to give up on the onions that had hijacked my afternoon, they reached the desired texture and color.

And WOW, they smelled amazing in all of their delicious, sweet and savory caramel-y, onion-y goodness.

There’s a very good reason that the recipe demands five whole pounds of onions (and as a result, a lot of tears). When I started, my 7 quart Dutch oven was full to the brim. By then end, the onions fit in a small bowl, which will sit covered in my fridge until they make their debut (with their friend goat cheese) on top of pizza later this week.

Caramelized Onions
Adapted from the recipe accompanying the article Slow Cook Onions and the Results Are Delicious by Russ Parsons of the LA Times 

1/2 cup oil

1. Cut off the stem and root ends of the onions, then halve them lengthwise and peel away the dried brown skin. Cut the onions lengthwise into one-fourth inch thick slices. As you finish, gather the onions in a large, heavy-bottomed pot (preferably cast-iron). A 7-quart pot will work just about perfectly.

2. When all of the onions have been sliced, pour over the oil and the salt and stir to combine. Set over medium heat and cover. Cook until the onions begin to wilt, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes to keep from sticking. As the onions soften, they will reduce in size quite dramatically.

3. After 20 to 30 minutes, the onions will be quite soft and they will begin to stick to the bottom. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking with the pot covered, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes to keep from sticking.

4. After 45 to 50 minutes, the onions will be silky and will be swimming in moisture. Remove the lid and increase the heat back to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until the moisture has mostly evaporated and the onions have begun to turn golden, about 25 to 30 more minutes.

5. Once again, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions really begin to brown more deeply, about 2 more hours (this will make 2 1/2 to 3 hours total).

6. At this point, you’ll need to watch the onions very carefully, stirring every couple of minutes or so. Cook until the onions have been reduced to a deep, reddish-brown marmalade, watching that they do not dry out, about 1 more hour, making 3 to 4 hours total.