French Onion Soup

Day 30: Lets be honest, its cheese soup...

We are getting really close now and I knew before I reached the end I HAD to pay homage to that fancy restaurant staple, Soupe a l'Oignon au Fromage. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of French Onion Soup. Don't get me wrong, I like onions and love cheese, but somehow I think I never could get that satisfied by such a simple yet rich soup. Something about the emptiness of the calories tends to make me sick to the stomach before I get full which is really never a good combination. That said I didn't try to alter the recipe to make it lighter or to make it more satisfying. I have never made it before and it's such a classic I felt like I didn't have adequate knowledge to start messing with a (generally acknowledged) good thing. I do have to admit that I made one (rather large) substitution. Classic French Onion soup is really simple: butter, onions, garlic, beef stock, salt, pepper. However given that Jay hasn't eaten beef in 10 years I didn't think it was a good idea to introduce it to his digestive system - too big of a risk to my night's sleep. Substituting chicken stock for beef stock REALLY alters the flavor but it had to be done. If you are a beef eater and want to make this recipe, I suggest using it. Otherwise I tried to use a selection of onions which I think made the soup sweeter. If that sounds good to you, go for it:

French Onion Soup

1/4 cup butter

3 large onions, sliced

2 large shallots, sliced

6 garlic cloves, sliced

1/2 cup white wine

6 cups chicken broth (or beef broth if you have the enzymes)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

12 slices french bread, toasted

1 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, sliced

Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions, shallots and garlic and and saute until very tender and brown, about 45 minutes. Add wine and simmer 3-4 minutes. Add chicken broth and mustard and simmer for 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls. Top each with toast and cheese. Broil until cheese melts and bubbles.

Jay's review:

4 yums (out of 5)! Sweet!

Split Pea Soup with Caramelized Onions and Garlic Croutons

Day 26: Poor Single Peas

For Valentines day, I could have pretended to find some "romantic" soup to make but after a week of birthday celebration I am, of course, sick. Sick for the first time since I got the ax in October! So instead I wanted "feed your soul" sort of soup and looking at my cheat sheet for soups to cover in the next six days split pea sounded the most tempting to my mucus muted palette. Normally split pea is associated with pork or bacon and while both sound wonderful I try to avoid cooking with them (damn vegetarian boyfriend!). So I was drawn to other ideas for "spicing up" your average vegetarian split pea soup. I found two methods that both sounded interesting and both of them rely on garnish for interest so I decided to try both. One called for a topping of caramelized onions and cumin seeds, while the other relies on the power of slow cooked garlic croutons. Maybe the marriage of the two rival the romance of Romeo and Juliet...

Split Pea Soup with Caramelized Onions and Garlic Croutons

Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 medium leek, halved, sliced and well rinsed

2 carrots, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

2 cups dried split peas

8 cups vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste

Caramelized Onions with Cumin Seed

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp cumin seed

Garlic Croutons

2 tbsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

pinch of salt

4-5 thin slices multi-grain bread

In a skillet heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium low heat. Cook garlic for croutons for about 10 minutes until lightly golden. Do not burn. Salt oil and garlic combo and take off heat. Place bread slices in oil and flip so that each side is well coated with oil. Place on a cooking sheet and sprinkle cooked garlic over reserving oil. Place under a broiler for 1 -2 minute each side or until browned. Set aside to cool. When cool break into pieces.

In the same skillet heat reserved oil (adding as much a another tbsp if needed). Cook onions and cumin seed over medium low heat for 30 minutes or until onions are golden in color. Set aside.

While the onions are caramelizing prepare the soup. In a soup pot heat remaining oil over medium heat. Cook onions, leeks, and carrots for 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more. Add peas, bay leaves and broth and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook 20 minutes or until the peas are cooked. Remove bay leaves, reserve 2 cups of the soup and puree the rest. Return reserved soup to the pot and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with garnish of onions and croutons.

Jay's review:

4.5 yums (out of 5!) Split-poo soup just got a new name!