Good evening everyone and welcome to the What's for Dinner Cafe, a place where friends gather on Saturday evening to discuss good food, share recipes, and ask questions about culinary problems they're encountering. So, go grab a beverage (i'll wait), put your feet up, and settle in for a few hours of food fellowship.
Our feature topic today is onion soup. It can be a lunch, a starter, or a hearty meal when you top it with a croute and grated cheese. All you need to add to the table is a salad and a glass of wine.
This soup holds a special place in my heart because it was one of the first meals Mr. Lear and I prepared together. I was still naive about cooking and had no idea what I was doing. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon on a New Year's Eve. We found a recipe in Julia Child's The French Chef, made a shopping list and got in car to buy the ingredients. When the grocery store didn't have Swiss cheese that we could grate for the topping, we proceeded to a mall and bought the cheese at Swiss Colony. My biggest recollection about the cooking is all the slicing and slicing and slicing and more slicing of onions I had to do. Neither of us remember how it tasted, but I must have been acceptable because we still make it today.
And like every other soup, the difference between good and bad is the broth. If it's not practical for you to make your own broth from bones and vegetables, use a high quality store-bought one. Most big box retailers offer acceptable low-sodium choices. Look for cartons, not cans.
Although Julia's recipe takes several hours to make, it's possible to cut the cooking time considerably by using a microwave instead of the stove top. We got our first microwave in 1982 - not long after the New Years Eve onion slicing lesson - and it came with a cookbook, and a rather extensive one at that. The microwave is long gone, but the cookbook still lives on the shelf. We were ecstatic to find a recipe for onion soup in it. While not quite as good as Julia's, you've gotta love it for the quick cook time. In about a half an hour - less than ordering and picking up take-out - you can have bowls of delicious, homemade soup.
Quick Recipe
Ingredients
3 cups sliced onions (about 3 medium)
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups beef broth
1 cup of water (you can substitute 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup red or white wine)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
Method
In the 3-quart casserole dish, heat the onions and butter, covered, 8 minutes on the highest power level. Stir in the broth, water, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Heat again, covered, for 10 minutes on the highest power level.
Cook for 10 more minutes on power level 7 until the onions are tender. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Julia Child's recipe is still my favorite after all these years. I make it exactly as she told me to that New Year's Eve in 1981. It freezes beautifully if you need and never disappoints. I've found that the more thinly you slice the onions, the better the soup.
Slow Cooked Recipe from Julia Child
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced yellow onion (5 or 6 cups)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 quarts hot beef broth
1 cup red or white wine
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon sage
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Melt the butter with the oil in a heavy 4-quart saucepan or casserole. Add the sliced onions and stir up to coat with the butter. Cover the pan and cook over moderately low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and translucent. Then uncover the pan, raise the heat to moderately high, and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions have turned an even deep golden brown.
Then lower the heat to moderate, stir in the flour, and a bit more butter if the flour does not absorb into a paste with the onions. Cook slowly, stirring continuously, for about 2 minutes to brown the flour lightly. Remove from heat.
Pour in about a cup of the hot broth, stirring with a wire whisk to blend the flour and broth. Add the rest of the broth and the wine, bay leaf, and sage, and bring to a simmer. Simmer slowly for about 30-40 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper, and the soup is done.
If you are not serving immediately, let the soup cool uncovered, then cover and refrigerate.
Serve with French bread and grated Parmesan cheese. Or, broil heated soup topped with browned bread and a combination of grated Parmesan and Swiss cheeses. When the cheese starts to brown, the soup is ready to serve.
What's for dinner at your house this evening? Or, tell us about one of your favorite dishes.
Bon Appetit!