I’m a chef with 15 years of experience. Everyone should know this 3-ingredient recipe for braised onions.

• As an experienced chef and cooking instructor, I love these miso-and-butter braised onions.
• I typically use yellow onions and white-miso paste, though you can always mix it up.
• The dish pairs well with squash, potatoes, and meat, and it can keep in the fridge for up to a week.

As a chef and cooking instructor with over 15 years of experience, I'm always recommending these miso-and-butter braised onions. 

With just three ingredients (not including water), the dish is deceptively simple, yet so good. It pairs exceptionally well with squash, potatoes, or whatever meat is already on the table.

Yotam Ottolenghi — the famed British, vegetable-forward chef — created this dish, and his version is outstanding. But I've found ways to make it quicker while keeping its rich, umami goodness.

Read on for everything you need to know to make these onions, including my tips and tricks.

I use yellow onions, but you can choose from many different alliums

Onions belong to the allium genus, and although different varieties may be similar, no two are exactly alike.

I use basic, yellow ones for their mild taste and wide availability, but you can experiment with shallots or cipollini onions.

As long as they're evenly browned and covered with the buttery miso base, all will be well. 

The miso makes for a silky sauce, and the fat gently caramelizes the butter

The buttery, umami sauce is really what makes this dish special.

The milk solids in the butter allow the smooth funkiness of miso to shine while the fat gently caramelizes them.

I use unsalted butter so that I can add salt according to my preferences because it's always easier to put something in than take it out. 

Miso paste (a fermented soybean product) is a staple in Japanese cuisine and comes in many varieties.

White miso is the least fermented and therefore considered very mild. Yellow and red misos are aged longer, so they take on bigger, bolder flavors.

Feel free to explore which type you like best, but any kind will need to be diluted in water. 

Pressing the paste flat in the pan and stirring it into the liquid lets the molecules relax, resulting in a silky, smooth sauce that'll reduce as the onions braise.

Feel free to add more water at any point if you like a thinner sauce.

The final result is a delectable side dish you can pair with meat, potatoes, or other dinner staples

Ingredients:

• Six to eight small or medium yellow onions 
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup white-miso paste, to taste
• 1 cup warm water

Instructions:

1. Halve the onions and chop off the ends, leaving the portion where the onion is attached to the root intact. Peel off the top two layers of skin.
2. Warm a slice of butter in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat and place the onions face down. Cook for six to eight minutes until the onions are totally browned on the cut side. Let them sit for two more minutes before transferring them to a plate. 
3. Turn the heat down to low and add the butter, miso, and warm water. Press the miso down with a spoon or whisk, then mix until fully combined.
4. Place the onion halves, cut-side down, back in the pan. The miso butter should come at least halfway up them, and it will bubble. Cover tightly and leave on low for 20 minutes. 
5. Flip the onions over, and add a splash of water if the sauce looks too evaporated. Cover and cook for another 20 minutes until it has a gravy-like consistency and the onions are cooked through and falling apart. 
6. Gently spoon the onions onto a serving platter with their sauce. Add salt and cracked pepper to taste. 
7. Seal any leftovers in a container, and keep them in the fridge for up to a week. 

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