Request:

Onion Soup

6 Nov 1994 21:06:02 -0500

Norman Hirsch wrote:

I have a bunch of great onions.   Anyone got a recipe for onion or French
onion soup?

I make my onion soup with tomatoes and rosemary. It is not the classic French recipe one finds in restaurants.

The basic idea is to burn about 1 tbsp of chopped onion (not charred, but getting black on the edges; this contributes mostly color, and a little smokiness) in olive oil, then add the rest of the onions sliced or cut in chunks, cook them briefly, add cubed or chopped tomatoes (about equal sizes: 1 tomato per onion, which in actual weight is less tomato than onion), cook a bit more, add water, and a lot of rosemary. I mean a lot: Like 1 tbsp per quart, or even more (experiment). This is the only recipe that I have where rosemary dominates; usually it is a supporting actor, because it is too robust for just about anything else, but onions and tomatoes are a match to it.

Simmer until very well done, easily an hour or so. Salt and pepper to taste at the end.

Variants:

Add garlic before the tomatoes (cook only very briefly and don't let it brown. Burnt garlic and rosemary are not a nice combination).

Add chopped or crushed hot peppers between the two onion additions. This is my favorite.

Add rice or miniature pasta (cooked separately and added only at the end. It is much easier to control doneness that way). With some garlic bread and a sprinkling of grated Romano, this can make easily a main dish for a cold winter night.