Roasted French Onion Soup

[Guest guest]

Me again... well, making chili has reminded me of some of the soups

that I make as the weather turns cooler. I'm extremely well known for

my Minestrone, a soup that's taken years to perfect - and I promise to

post it, too. The hard part is that I learned to cook from my Mom,

whose recipes reside in her head, without proper measurements - you

just "know" what to use... so my Minestrone (while my own), has evolved

in the same way. Anyway... this soup is from Moosewood's Daily Special

Cookbook, and while it seems like alot of work, it's so fantastic, you

won't care how long it took! It's one of the few recipes that I follow

pretty closely - my modifications are minor.

 

Roasted French Onion Soup - Part One - The Dark Vegetable Stock

 

1 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped coursely

1 bud garlic, cloves separated, but unpeeled, just smashed with the

broad side of a knife

12 cups water

2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large potato, chopped

2-3 celery sticks with leaves, chopped

2 portabella mushrooms, chopped

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns

1/2 tsp salt

6 whole cloves

 

In a large soup pot, heat vegetable oil. Add onions and garlic and

sautee until lightly browned, 8-10 mins. Add all remaining

ingredients, cover, bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about

50 minutes, until vegetables are very soft. Strain through colander or

sieve.

 

Roasted French Onion Soup - Part Two - The Onions

 

4-5 large spanish onions (a mix of spanish and vidalia when available

is amazing)

1 bud garlic (bud, not clove), minced or pressed

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

4 bay leaves

1 tsp dry white wine

 

Preheat oven to 375. In two shallow nonreactive baking pans large

enough to accomodate all of the onions, combine everything but the

wine. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the

onions have softened and very lightly browned. Remove from oven, add

wine to the baking pans, and stir well to deglaze.

 

Roasted French Onion Soup - Part Three - The Soup

 

The Dark Vegetable Stock

The Onions

2 tbsp soy sauce

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

 

Add the onions and soy sauce to the stock. Cover and bring to a boil;

lower heat and simmer for 30-50 minutes. Discard bay leaves and add

salt and pepper to taste.

 

I serve this in the traditional way - toasted french bread and shredded

cheese on top (only I use sharp cheddar instead of swiss - your choice!)

 

Enjoy!!

 

Cathrine