freedom soup

Wow, haven't posted here in a while. Not a whole lot of focused cooking going on, plenty of eating though.

I must say that I've become really interested in eating soup lately. Made some French Onion Soup recently, had some chicken soup last night. Soup tastes good and is good for you. The healing powers of certain soups are really amazing.

French Onion Soup
Remember all of the ridiculousness about "freedom fries" when France didn't support the war in Iraq? This is a slight modification of the French Onion soup recipe from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. The most notable addition is use of beef stock instead of water. This gives the soup the rich texture you normally associate with French Onion soup.

French Onion Soup
Serves 8
Prep time: 40 minutes

4 yellow onions, medium
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 liter of beef stock (preferably organic/free range, low or no sodium)
Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
8 round or oblong slices of french baguette
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Slice the onions into thin rings (1/8") using a mandoline or a sharp knife. Melt butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, and add onions. Saute onions, adjusting the heat so that they don't burn, until soft and golden in color over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with pepper, add sugar and flour, and cook for additional 3 minutes.

Next add entire quantity of beef stock, raise heat to high and bring soup to boil. Meanwhile, grate parmesan cheese. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings (salt & pepper) to taste. Turn oven broiler on to prepare for last step.

Ladle soup into small heat-safe bowls. Add baguette slice to each bowl, and sprinkle with 1/8 cup parmesan cheese, and put bowls under oven broiler. Watching carefully, broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted & bubbly. Carefully remove bowls from oven and serve.

Enjoy!