Fig and Sweet Onion Casserole

(Quantity of ingredients depends on the number of people.)

A great accompaniment to roast pork or grilled sausages. It's also tasty at room temperature or for a picnic.

Basic Ingredients:

• Small, sweet onions (preferably no more than 1 ½" in diameter)

• Fresh, ripe figs

• White wine

• Balsamic Vinegar
  
• Dried Thyme leaves
  
• Olive oil

Assembly:

• Peel and quarter the onions. (If you are using onions larger than 2" in diameter, it would be better to slice them in thick slices from top to bottom (i.e. 1/2" thick slices) rather than quarters. But quarters make a nicer presentation because they match the fig quarters.
  
• Wash and quarter the figs.
  
• Oil a round or oval porcelain casserole dish just large enough to fit all the onions and figs in one layer.

Arrange fig and onion quarters alternately around the dish with the curved (outer) side down. Push them together to fit snugly against each other, but don't over lap them. (One of the aesthetics of this dish is to see the alternating color pattern of the reddish figs and yellow onions.) Add just enough white wine to barely cover the bottom of the dish. Don't let the onions and figs float in the wine. Sprinkle liberally with balsamic vinegar and thyme leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt.

Assembled casserole before baking.

• Lay a small sheet of aluminum foil over the casserole (but don't close tightly).
  
• Bake for about 30 minutes in 350°F oven. Remove foil and continue to bake for 10 more minutes to brown the highest points of the figs and onions. If the casserole is done after 30 minutes, then put it under broiler for a few minutes to give lightly brown the highest points.

Notes:

• Casserole: It's somewhat misleading to call this a casserole by our common associations with what a casserole means. But a casserole is literally a deep porcelain dish used to baked food and can be used to serve directly from the dish. This recipe fits the true definition of a "casserole".
  
• Onions: Cipolini or a Maui-type onion like Granex are the best. Standard yellow onions are not sweet enough and would overpower the figs. If sweet onions aren't available, use small white boiling onions.
  
• Figs: We used very ripe figs, which surprisingly did not mush out in cooking. But under-ripe figs are also fine. We haven't tried dried figs. If you want to try this recipe when fresh figs are not in season, you might try soaking fresh figs in white wine for a few hours to re-hydrate them.