As I have mentioned elsewhere, Philip has a very low opinion of vegetables. He also has very little mouth moisture, due to the effects of throat/mouth radiation for cancer. He does like sweet things, as most of us do (although it took a while for this preference to develop, after the radiation – his taste buds were a moving target for a while!).
So I combined these three facts and have incorporated caramelized veggies into our diet. Except for all the chopping, they’re incredibly easy to make and can be frozen so that one batch can last a long time.
Typically I combine zucchini, red/orange/yellow peppers, red onions, chopped fresh garlic, and eggplant. If I have some celery that is starting to wilt, I’ll thrown that in as well. I have also added chopped broccoli and brussel sprouts, but that tips the scale to the “too much like vegetables” side, and I have had to back off on those two ingredients. I have other ways of cooking brussel sprouts that even he likes, but adding them to the caramelized veggies is not one of them. (Cut off the stem part, slice them in half the long way, place them flat-side down in a cast iron frying pan into a coating of oil sprinkled with a spice mix such as McCormicks’ Salad Supreme, then cook, covered. As soon as they need it, add a little squirt of water – over and over, so they stay moist – until they are nicely cooked. The bottoms will have a little crisp on them and the taste is divine, especially with some white sauce on top).
Anyway, back to the veggies. Here’s how they start out, after I’ve chopped them all up:
I cook them on a high heat in a very large dutch oven, to which I have added a generous amount of safflower or sunflower oil, turning constantly with one of my favorite spatulas, until it all starts to wilt. Then I add water slowly, to continue the wilting process, and I continue to stir, lifting the bottom veggies up to the top.
Finally, when they are well and truly wilted, I pour in the rest of the water – up to the top of the veggies, but not beyond – and add the brown sugar. I’ve come to prefer Stop & Shop brown sugar, but any will do. More or less to your taste, but with a pan this big (I think it’s at least a 7-quart), I can add about 3/4 cup, and it isn’t too sweet.
I stir this up and let it simmer for a while. I also add some white sauce at the end, to thicken it up. In the end, it looks like this:
After it’s been in the fridge, even a few hours, everything gets darker/softer/more brown, looking very caramelized. I use this on burgers, mixed with spaghetti sauce, on sandwiches or in wraps, and as the basis for just about any sauce with meat. It’s fantastic alongside a grilled steak, with some guacamole.