Our calling card may be our sports teams, but Pittsburghers also are pretty passionate about eating. In the weeks leading to Easter, that often means fish.

So many residents eat fish-based dinners during the six-week Lenten season that last year the city was among the top five metropolitan areas contributing to a 37 percent surge in traffic for fish-related recipes, according to Allrecipes.com, an online food site that gets more than 6 million unique visitors each month.

This simple recipe for Candied Salmon was a top Lenten Friday fish recipe searched by Pittsburgh residents. It's sweet-tangy enough that even non-fish eaters will enjoy it and is just as good cold for breakfast. (My husband ate it with eggs.) Be sure to give the onions enough time to properly caramelize to a deep, golden brown.

• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 6-ounce salmon fillets

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and grease the foil with cooking spray.

Combine the onions, vinegar and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce begins to caramelize, about 15 minutes.

Melt butter with garlic in a small skillet over medium heat. Lay salmon fillets on the prepared baking sheet and brush with garlic butter. Pour the onion mixture over the fillets.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until the fish flakes easily. Cooking time may vary with the thickness of your fillets.

Makes 6 servings.

-- Allrecipes.com

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