carmelized heaven, or the (almost) classic french onion soup

I bought a bag of yellow onions at the grocery store the other day. They were on sale, and i adore onions! Their scent, particularly when caramelizing, reminds me of my mom's kitchen because onions make their way into so many Polish dishes.  But seeing this particular bag at the grocery store didn't make me think of Polish food. Instead, all I saw, was a big bowl of French Onion Soup.  

French Onion Soup! Yum! I love French Onion Soup, but never order it out because the classic recipe utilizes beef stock, and I am vegetarian.  And I have not made it for years. In fact, come to think of it, I don't think I ever made French onion soup at home.  I have had it at people's homes, and I have had it if I was lucky enough to find it at a vegetarian restaurant.  But can't actually remember ever making it myself. So with thoughts of my first, home-made, veggie caramelized soup heaven, I snatched the big bag of onions and biked home. 

That evening, I quickly scanned some recipes on line - from Julia Child's to Martha Stewart's. It seems that every chef has one, all slightly different and all "classic".  Unsure of which to pick, I took a cue from Chef Michael Smith, who said that French onion soup is best when personalized - any chef and every home cook will and should put their own spin on it.  So, I did.  I took bits and pieces, from here and there and threw together a soup that was absolutely delicious!  And so very filling, WOW!  Now, I know that the classic French onion soup is rich and filling - all that beef broth and cheese will most certainly do that! But my soup was pretty "healthified" and edited.  I didn't douse it with cheese, I merely used some fresh grated Parmesan for flavour, and my broth was a light, herb broth. But the soup was still pretty satisfying! How does half a bag of onions, some broth, a few herbs and a sprinkling of Parmesan translate into a rich dinner? Well, this is how...

The "Not-So-Cheesy" French Onion Soup

5-6 medium to large yellow onions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup white wine (red will work too, if that's what you have on hand)

4-5 cups veggie/herb stock (i often use hot water and 1 cube of vegan herb bullion)

1T thyme, or 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bay leafs 

sea salt

black pepper, coarsely ground

1T miso

2-3 slices sourdough bread

1/3 cup shaved Parmesan

fresh thyme to garnish

In a large pot, heat some olive oil.  Saute thinly sliced onions, with a sprinkling of salt, over medium heat, for 20 minutes, until caramelized.  Add the red wine to deglaze the pan, add the stock, thyme, bay leafs and some pepper.  Bring to a low boil, turn down the heat and simmer, under cover, for another 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  In a small cup, stir the miso with a ladle full of broth.  Add the mixture to the soup.  Taste and season accordingly to preference.

Pour the soup into an oven proof, deep glass or ceramic dish.  Arrange the toasted sourdough on top and top with the shaved Parmesan.  Bake in the oven, uncovered, at 400F for about 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted, bubbled and turned golden. "Cut" the toast/cheese "lid" and serve, taking care to include some broth, onions and the soaked/cheesy toast.  

the return of the dumpling

when i was a little girl i had exceptionally round cheeks, and so "dumpling" was essentially my second name. this was not a bad thing then although if you called me dumpling today i may just take offense.

dumplings are the ultimate in comfort food which is probably why so many world cuisines have their own versions. being polish, i've had my share of various dumplings: filled or not, sweet or savory, the list goes on. but its been a while, since making dumplings is rather time consuming and, let's be honest, they are not the "healthiest" food out there. but even though i'm a bit of a wheat and dairy-phob and usually aim to pack the maximum nutritious value (as opposed to caloric value) into any meal (which means opting for foods that are whole, unprocessed, etc.) i lost my head for these wonderful northern italian dumplings that my friend marc oliver prepared for me yesterday. made with all the things i usually stay away from, they were TOTALLY worth the departure. the lesson here is that eating healthy is not just about what's good for your body, but also about what's good for your soul. and these delicious dumplings definitely fit that bill. a pleasure to look at and a pleasure to eat, they were exceptional!

p.s. amazing as they were, i am on a bit of a mission now to make them with brown/non-wheat bread and less dairy. i'll report back whether they are successful and get the "dumpling master's" stamp of approval.

marc oliver's spinach gorgonzola dumplings

1 french baguette (about 250g); dry
3 free run eggs
100g gorgonzola or other sharp cheese
150g spinach (sauteed)
1 stick butter, melted
80g flour
flat leaf italian parsley, chopped
0.5 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
salt and cracked black pepper to taste

cut the dry baguette into small chunks. place the bread in a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, crumbled gorgonzola, cooked spinach, half of the melted butter, flour, parsley, chopped onion and minced garlic. mix well to integrate (tip: wash your hands and get into it that way). the dough should be sticky and hold together; if it is still too loose, let stand for a few minutes for the bread to absorb the excess liquids.

in a large pot, bring water to boil. add some salt. form the dumplings into desirable size - marc oliver's were about the size of a tennis ball, but i assume you can make them smaller if you prefer. place in the boiling water for about 5 min (by then they should be floating on the surface and the water boiling again). remove from the water, drain on a plate or in a strainer.

while the dumplings are cooking, melt the remaining butter and chop the tomatoes. in a separate pan, saute the tomatoes and chopped parsley for a couple of minutes just to warm up. plate the dumplings, drizzle with the butter and decorate with the tomatoes and grated parmesan cheese. as you can tell by the picture, marc oliver LOVES his parmesan.