Comfort Food...a Warm French Soup for a Cold Sydney Night

Bonjour tout le monde ! It's finally winter in Sydney...so I wanted to share with you a soup that will warm up your heart as well as your home...



Publié par Visions Gourmandes

To quote Moliere: "I feed on good soup, not beautiful language." In my humble opinion, Soupe à l’Oignon is the best thing for a cold winters night, and I'm pretty sure Moliere would agree with me on this one. 



1dlypromo.biz, babble.com

So, don't speak...just listen, read, absorb and crave what I'm about to share with you. Soupe à l'Oignon actually originated in France in 1907 from a cookbook known as "Gastronomie Pratique" by Henri Babinski and over time, this has become one of the many things I crave when the winter winds are howling at my windows.



Alain Sirois, coupdepouce.com, 1dlypromo.biz

Picture flame toasted baguette pieces liberally slathered in butter, caramelised sautéed onions browned to absolute perfection, and mountains of grated cheese, all of which submerged in hot and steamy bouillon begging to be slurped and feasted on by the lucky members of your home.



baiedesaintbrieuc

Did you know that the best onion to use for Soupe à l'Oignon is l'Oignon de Roscoff (Roscoff onions or Johnny Roscoffs). Pour quoi ? Because it is high in acidity (which gives the soup à l’Oignon a bite) and sweetness (which makes you come back for more !) I tried to find them in Sydney, but to my dismay, I couldn't...but I knew the next best type of onion is Australia's most common onion, the Brown Onion ! They give a rich brown colour when sautéed and have a good amount of acidity and sweetness. 



recettesdelamort.ca, cakewalkr.com, belonika.livejournal.com

Alors, let's get started on this amazing and simple hearty winter soup ! This is for about 6-8 people so there's plenty to go around, so invite your friends over  and have a feast !

The ingredients you will need:

 - 12 medium brown onions (you can also go half brown and half red onions if you want the soup sweeter and less onion-y...(yes, I just made up my own word here)

 - 45g butter (I use salted butter, but unsalted will do)

 - 100ml dry white wine (like a Sauvignon Blanc)

 - 30g flour

 - 1.25lts beef stock (you can also use chicken stock)

 - 1 baguette

 - 60g grated Gruyère cheese (support Australian cheeses !)

thetexasfoodnetwork

Ok, so it starts out simple and easy - if you have a food processor or mandolin, grab it now, thank me later ;-)

1. Slice all the onions using your food processor or mandolin

2. Turn on the stove and melt your butter in a pot (a heavy based pot works best)

3. Add the onions to your pot and cook the until they are transparent then light brown in colour

4. Add the flour and mix with a wooden spatula

5. Add the wine and stock, cover for about 20 minutes on medium to high heat, then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. At this stage, preheat the oven griller in preparation for Step 8. If you don't have a grill in your oven, preheat the oven to 220°C to melt the cheese.

6. Turn on your grill/toaster, cut the baguette into medium sized slices and grill/toast (this is to stop the baguette pieces becoming soggy in the soup).

7. Get yourself 6 crockpots (oven proof pots) and ladle some soup in each of them.

8. Float 2 pieces of baguette side by side on the top of the soup (if you want to butter your baguette ... do it !)

9. Cover the baguette pieces with lashings of grated cheese - the messier the better, because when it grills it'll get crunchy and gooey and intense.

10. Pour yourself a nice wine or grab a bottle of cider and enjoy

Bon appetit ! A bientôt !

babble.comsixtyone45