Soup - Day 3

As far as I’m concerned, a week of soups must include French Onion. It is one of our favourite soups and one that I have made for many years.
Onion Soup can be tricky though, despite its seeming simplicity. My mother-in-law referred to it once as tasting like beef consommé and there is certainly little point in eating the tinned stuff, which is basically beef stock with some token onion flakes sprinkled in it for good measure.
I have made onion soup without stock and with stock and, providing you cook the onions slowly, over a low heat, you can be guaranteed of a rich flavour that tastes not one bit beefy.
Of course, as far as I’m concerned, the soup merely exists to mop up the delicious Gruyere encrusted croutons that float on the top. As you can see, I like my croutons large. I just get great pleasure from tearing into the bread which has a soggy underbelly from the soup, the strands of cheese drooping over the side of the bowl, to be peeled off with your fingers once the soup has all gone.
Last night I decided to split the basic onion soup into two, making one traditional version and one non-traditional. The non-traditional version didn’t follow much of a recipe. I simply had an idea of filling a baby pumpkin with soup and baking it in the oven. Minimal washing up and many soup bowls do you know you can eat?
I made this second, slightly recherché soup into a creamy version, firstly adding half a teaspoon of Garam Masala for a little spice, then stirring in a generous spoonful of crème fraiche, plus some blue cheese (in this case Roquefort, just because I found it clinging to the back of the cheese dish) for good measure. I also sprinkled over some parsley but I wouldn’t recommend you do this: the parsley surprisingly conflicted with all the other flavours. I suspect that a few Thyme leaves would have served better.
I had little idea how this would actually turn out but we were both pleasantly surprised. The onion soup worked well with the Roquefort (although Paul thought I should have used a little less, to which I concede) and the richness was countered perfectly against the sweetness of squash. A perfect dish for a Winters day. Or for slurping out of whilst watching Battleship Galacticness.
I would suggest that you share it though – mini though it may have been, a whole pumpkin was still too much for me alone.
Here then are the recipes for both:
FRENCH ONION SOUP serves 2
Ingredients:
6 Onions, peeled and finely sliced (I used a variety, red, white and a couple of sweet onions, but you can just use one type)
1.5 Litres Water or Chicken Stock (I used organic stock cubes)
20g Butter
Tablespoon Olive Oil
Dash Worcestershire Sauce
Seasoning
Rustic Bread
Gruyere


METHOD:
Gently heat the Olive Oil and butter in a large saucepan or deep frying pan.
Sweat down the onions over a low heat until they are golden brown and fragrant. This could take up to an hour.
Pour over the stock or water and a dash of Worcestershire Sauce and bring to the boil. Turn heat down to a brisk simmer. Leave for another half an hour, ensuring it doesn’t reduce too much.
Taste for seasoning (it will take quite a lot of salt and pepper) and pour into heat proof soup bowls.
Bob your slices of bread on top of the soup and grate over some Gruyere.
Put under a hot grill and once bubbling and browned, serve.

CREAMY ONION SOUP IN A PUMPKIN – serves 2, very generously
Ingredients:
As French Onion Soup plus
Half a teaspoon Garam Masala
Dessertspoonful of Creme Fraiche
10g Blue Cheese
2 Baby Pumpkins or Squash
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200c.
Cook the soup as French Onion soup, except add the garam masala to the onions before you add the stock, cooking for a minute or two to activate the spice. Then proceed as above.
Once you have seasoned the soup to your satisfaction, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, prepare the squash. Carefully cut the top off, reserving to one side. Scoop out the innards of the squash, removing all the seeds and strandy bits.
Place the prepared squash on a baking tray with sides.
Stir the Creme Fraiche and Blue Cheese into the slightly cooled onion soup and divide between the two squash.
Replace the ‘lids’ or tops of the squash and cook in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. Once the squash yields to you pressing it, it’s ready. Any longer and it will collapse and take your soup with it.
Serve in large bowls to catch any spills, with crusty bread and butter.