Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Creamy Caramelized-Onion Soup

My dear friend of more than 30 years, Kevbo (Journal 703) served this soup at a lunch he and George hosted recently. George made wonderful paninis to accompany the soup, I'll have to get that recipe soon. I couldn't wait to try making the soup at home, so today was the day! Below is the recipe in black as it was given to me by Kevbo. The red text are my added comments:

Martha Stewart's Creamy Caramelized-Onion Soup
(Note from Kevbo: I have edited and doubled this recipe)* 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2.5 pounds (6 to8) leeks, white and pale-green parts only, rinsed well and coarsely chopped
* 10 garlic, thinly sliced
* 14 large shallots, about 28 ounces, thinly sliced
* 4 large Vidalia onions, about 40 ounces, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
* 1.5 cup dry white vermouth or white wine (I use Reisling)
* 8 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
* 2 tbsp Coarse salt
* 2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. Melt 8 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks, garlic, shallots, and half of the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are deep golden brown but not burned, about 25 minutes.
(Here are the onions, cooked down quite a bit, not yet brown; be patient, it does take a bit of time) 2. Add vermouth, stock, and 2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Let cool. Puree onion mixture in batches in a blender until smooth, about 3 minutes per batch. Set aside. (I use a stick blender....much easier) (This is how much wine was left out of the bottle; I am too frugal to waste anything, I'll have to find another use for the wine) 3. Meanwhile, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add remaining onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is very soft and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cover, and set aside. (By now, I've been cooking a while, it is a lengthy process. Good News! I found another use for the wine! Cheers! Here's to Kevbo and George for finding this recipe and sharing it with me)4. Return onion puree to saucepan. Stir in cream. Reheat over medium heat, stirring, until heated through but not boiling. Season with salt, if desired. Serve, topped with caramelized onions. (I resisted the urge to add pepper; the recipe did not call for it, but I put pepper in everything. The only reason I was able to resist the temptation to add it was that I KNEW first hand that this recipe was absolutely perfect as written) It was absolutely heavenly, right down to the caramelized onions on top! I ate three bowls of it for dinner! I may have the rest of it as a midnight snack, or perhaps for breakfast.

4 comments:

Judy said...

Good girl Nola for finding a good use for the leftover wine. I would have done the same. This sounds fantastic. I love onion soup. I'm making Julia'a potate leek soup tomorrow.

Madam Zelda E said...

I know how delish this soup is. Bet yours was as good as Kevins.

Bren Haas said...

This looks delicious! I have plans to try this recipe this weekend so thank you for sharing. I found your link off of one of my garden friends blogger entries. SO Happy I followed it over to your page. Stop by my garden sometime!

Anonymous said...

I need to make this again! Mmmmmmm