Soup's On!

I can't think of a more cozy and nourishing way to begin a holiday meal than a rich and flavorful soup made from...inexpensive onions. Gourmet? Perhaps not, though it's amazing what a long slow simmer will do to the most pedestrian of root vegetables. And the blanket of molten cheese on top makes it even more glamorous. As you know I'm participating in Share Our Holiday Table to raise money to stop childhood hunger in the US and today is the soup course!

There are two great things about a soup like this--well, there are many more I'm sure, but just I'll mention the two that come to my mind: it is wonderfully budget conscious (and who couldn't use that during these difficult times) and you can make it the day before you need it. In fact it's better that way.

I cry like a baby every time I slice onions and have tried every one of Martha's suggestions on how to prevent it (keeping my mouth shut, burning a candle nearby etc.) and none of them work. If you have a trick that does, I'd love to hear it! I actually cried so much in the making of this soup that I almost let out an involuntary sob. I've heard it's cathartic, a good cry, and I must say I felt especially good after the onions were simmering away on the stove. Remember to tuck in your fingers when you are slicing, or you'll be crying for a different reason entirely.




Though this soup is very simple to make, it does take time to cook a full pot of onions down until they become deep golden brown and sweet as can be. Don't try to rush this step, unless you are a fan of the acrid taste of burnt onions. It will take the better part of one hour.





Then stir in some flour and broth, a pinch of thyme,and a couple spoons of brandy (everything tastes better with a little booze) and simmer the soup for about 20 minutes. After that you can cool and refrigerate it until the next day. To serve it's simply topped with toasted bread (I used croutons from La Brea Bakery), blanketed with cheese and broiled.





Don't forget to see what's cooking in the kitchens of the other participating bloggers!

December 9: Soup

Gourmet

• Tartelette
• edible cville
• The Runaway Spoon
• A Girl, A Market, A Meal

Family Friendly

• Ladles and Jellyspoons
• Two Dollar Dinners
• All About Alton Brown
• Cookie Central

Vegetarian

• Good Life Eats
• Feed Our Families

Gluten Free

• Celiac Teen
• Celiacs in the House
• Gluten Free Life with Jen
• And Love it Too!

French Onion Soup
Printable Recipe

Dark and rich, this soup will surely satisfy the cravings of your most discriminating guests and make a lovely addition to your holiday supper. This soup tastes even better the second day, so make it in advance if possible.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 2 hours
Yield: serves 4-6 as a first course

Ingredients:

5 pounds of onions, about 6 large
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 quarts good quality beef broth or stock
1 teaspoon of beef bouillon or base, such as Better Than Bouillon (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2-3 tablespoons brandy
4 slices of french bread, toasted (or croutons)
8 slices of Gruyere cheese

Preparation:

1. Peel and slice onions into 1/4 inch rounds. Heat a large stockpot over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted add the onions to the pot and stir to coat.

2. Cook onions for one hour, stirring occasionally, until onions are deep, golden brown. Sprinkle with flour, then gradually add stock while stirring to prevent lumps. Add bouillon if using, thyme and brandy and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover partially and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.

3. To finish, reheat the soup until simmering on the stove. Adjust oven rack so that it is 6 inches from your broiler. Ladle soup into 4 oven-proof bowls that have been placed on a baking sheet. Top with slices of toasted French bread or croutons and 2 slices of cheese (on each bowl). Broil for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Julia's Last Supper

My babies weren't very good eaters; that is to say, they were very good drinkers (they loved mama's milk) but baby food, not so much. In fact, I was very shocked when my second born son, reached over to my plate and grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and shoved them in his mouth. He was about 6 months old, and never really had solid food before. Evidently, he wanted real flavor, and a little bit of texture too. I quickly discovered that he preferred "real" food to baby food and when I did try to feed him baby food, even the organic homemade stuff, he gagged and spit it out. So I wasn't very surprised that this same son, not much older, gleefully gobbled down the French Onion Soup that my mom and I often ordered at our weekly lunch date. He would actually scream, his little feet swiftly paddling under his highchair, until we put another spoonful in his mouth. I'm happy to report that in those 9 years not much has changed, and he is still my most adventurous eater.

Tonight, I decided to try an old favorite for dinner, French Onion Soup. Simple to make, yet exquisitely complex in flavor, it was considered poor person's food in days of old for good reason; the only thing it required was some stock (or bones to make it), and onions. Of course, topping it with crusty french bread with a slab of Gruyere cheese, elevates it to something special. The quality of the stock is important, however what really gives this soup its rich color and flavor is the caramelizing of the onions.

After perusing many variations of this recipe, I decided upon Julia Child's, mostly because I already had all the ingredients on hand. Afterwards, when I was doing a bit of research on the soup, I learned that French Onion Soup was Julia's last meal before passing away peacefully in her sleep (not from food poisoning, but rather kidney failure and old age). I also learned that it was probably invented by Louis XIV or XV and is a long-lost cousin of sop (a hearty bread soaked in broth that was eaten in the Middle Ages). Now that the history lesson is complete, on to the recipe!

French Onion Soup

adapted from Julia Child's recipe

2 1/2 pounds of onions, thinly sliced

4 T butter

1 T olive oil

1 t salt

1 t sugar

1 T flour

1/4 C Cognac

1 C dry white wine (something you would drink)

2 quarts (8 C) rich beef stock (or vegetable stock or a combination of veal and beef)

4 slices of sourdough bread

4 thin slabs of Gruyere cheese

Melt butter together with olive oil in a large, heavy stockpot over medium heat. Saute onions for about five minutes, covered, until they begin to soften. Uncover, add salt and sugar, and continue to saute (still uncovered), until onions are a deep walnut color, about 30 minutes. Add flour and stir well and continue to saute for a couple of minutes to make sure everything is incorporated. Add Cognac, wine and stock. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover loosely and cook for about 1 1/2 hours.

When soup is almost done, set oven to broil and toast bread for a couple of minutes on each side under the broiler. Ladle soup into oven-proof bowls and top with toasted bread, then cheese. Place bowls on a baking sheet and broil about 2-3 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Make sure that the tops of the bowls are about 6 inches from the flames of the broiler.

Serve with a simple baby greens salad dressed in a French Vinaigrette, of course.