It being Father’s Day and all, I figured I would pay a little tribute to my dad.
Although I inherited my love of eating from my mom, I think my love for cooking is my dad’s doing. I always remember him making flowers from radishes and palm trees out of carrots and green peppers…. Homemade hollandaise and mornay sauces….. Gumbo…. But, I have to say, whenever I’m feeling homesick—my go to is always my dad’s onion soup. I joke that you can tell which of my recipes are the fan favorites, because they’re the most wrinkled and food splattered pages in my recipe book. And let me tell you, the onion soup page is a hot mess!
Now-we recently had stock day at school, which inevitably led to soup day. There was a recipe for onion soup that looked different from my dad’s recipe. I was intrigued because this is culinary school–it was for sure going to be phenomenal.
Turns out my dad’s is not only easier to make, but it’s healthier, AND tastes better too (sorry Chef it is what it is)! I feel like anytime I get onion soup from a restaurant (or in this case leftovers from class) I want to wash my face after I eat. There’s always way too much oil. I’d rather spend my calories on the cheesy bread that goes in it!
Not only does this taste amazing, but when you’re feeling sick it’s a great dish because onions are surprisingly packed with a ton of Vitamin C. The best part is that it takes no time at all to make. Throw some ingredients in a pot and let it simmer.
Yields: 6 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 50 minutes | Total Time: 55 min
Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion, sliced in 3, then cut in half
1/2 tsp pepper
6 cups water
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ tbsp. Maggi seasoning
1 cube vegetable bouillon
2 slices French bread
2 slices provolone cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
Roux: (okay so dad’s called for flour and butter, but me being the health nut that I am….)
1/4 cup pureed/mashed cannellini beans (any white bean will do)
~5 tbsp broth from onion soup
1. Drizzle olive oil in heated pan. Add sliced onions to olive oil and cook until tender (2-3 minutes).
2. Add pepper, garlic, maggi, bouillon, and water. Bring to a boil.
3. Cover and reduce heat to simmer ~45 minutes.
4. For roux: In separate small pan, heat pureed beans, adding onion soup broth 1 tbsp at a time, stirring constantly until resembles gravy like texture. Once thickened, add roux to onion soup and bring to a boil ~2 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice bread and place cheese slices on top of bread.
7. Toast bread/cheese in oven until cheese melts ~4-5 minutes. To serve, spoon soup into bowl and place toast cheese side down in soup to melt.
The Cook’s 2 Cents:
· If you have oven safe bowls, you can also lay cheese over the top of the bowl and bake until melted. The presentation ends up being very appetizing.
· When slicing onions-make very thick slices. (For a large onion, I usually slice in three.)
· My recipe calls for French bread, but if you’re using larger bowls, you could use a thicker loaf.
· Onion soup doesn’t need to be thick, so the roux isn’t absolutely necessary. If you do end up using it, make sure it’s a “gravy like” consistency prior to adding to the broth. If it’s too thick it won’t mix very well in the soup.
· Maggi seasoning can be hard to find. It’s basically a fancy soy sauce added for coloring. I have substituted soy sauce when I didn’t have any Maggi.
Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 2 cups Servings per recipe: 3
Calories: 267 Fat: 7g Sodium: 2260mg Carbs: 37g Fiber: 4g Sugars: 3g Protein: 12g
