This morning I was flipping through Donna Hay’s gorgeous cookbook, Flavors, and found myself drooling over a photo of caramelized onions.  They looked so sweet and soft and rich with flavor… I had to have them.  Had to have them NOW.

Off I went to the grocery store, and back I came with two bags of fat yellow onions.  Twenty minutes and one box of tissues later, the onions were sliced and sizzling away in a pan of hot oil and butter.  The smell was intoxicating, and it wafted out my kitchen window and into the yard and halfway up the street.  (I know this because my neighbor’s eight-year-old son came by to ask what I was cooking.)

And then, of course, came the question of what to do with a pan full of caramelized onions.  Rummaging around in my refrigerator, I found some flatbread, some cheeses, and a few leaves of sage.  Brilliant!  Pizza.

So I ribboned the sage and stirred it into the onions, then piled the onions onto the flatbread and topped them with crumbled Gorgonzola.  The whole creation went into the oven for just a spell and… voila!  I made a mimosa with leftover Champagne from New Year’s and had a lovely brunch with the most charming eight-year-old sous chef you’ll ever meet.  (Note, he did not have the mimosa.)

Caramelized Onion Flatbread with Gorgonzola and Sage

4 yellow onions
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 sage leaves, cut into ribbons
1 12-inch flatbread or packaged pre-baked pizza crust
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
honey, for drizzling

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large, shallow saucepan until hot.  Meanwhile, peel and slice the onions into 1/4-inch-thick rings.  Add the onions to the pan and cook over medium heat until they just begin to soften.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the vinegar, sugar, salt and sage.  Cook the onions until they are soft and deep brown, stirring often, about 20 minutes.

Remove the onions from the heat and allow to cool slightly.  Spread the onion mixture over the top of the flatbread and sprinkle with Gorgonzola.  Bake in an oven preheated to 325F for 10 minutes, just until the cheese begins to melt and the crust is crispy.  (If the crust is fully pre-baked, be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.)  Serve warm, drizzled very lightly with honey and garnished with a sprig of fresh sage.

Tip: This recipe would work well for an hors d’oeuvres course.  Instead of making one big pizza pie, cut the flatbread into bite-size pieces (or use crackers) and then top with a spoonful of the onion mixture and a crumble of Gorgonzola.  Bake on a cookie sheet and serve warm.