Monday, May 5, 2008

French Onion Bread Soup


Slowly, but surely, I am making my way through the mounds of posts I have starred in my google reader or bookmarked in my favourites folder. I'm never going to get through all of the recipes I've starred in my google reader.

But, here are a few more recipes I can check off as having tried and add to my repetoire.

First, my salad was inspired by Bellini Valli's Chicken Chopped Mediterranean Salad with Feta Vinaigrette. Check out her blog for her version of this salad.

Here is what I did:

1 can of tuna in water
2 tbsp mayonnaise
lettuce of your choice
1 English cucumber, sliced
2 plum tomatoes
1/3-1/2 cup of sesame seeds
red, yellow and green peppers

Dressing
1-2 T red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil (you may reduce the oil slightly if desired)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, plus extra for garnish

Combine tune and mayonnaise - set aside.

Prepare lettuce (wash and tear/cut into smaller pieces) and add to remaining vegetables in a bowl.

In a sealable jar or container with a lid, combine red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, basil, oregano, salt, garlic, pepper and sugar (if using) and crumbled feta cheese. Seal lid and shake vigorously. (Bellini's tip: If you would like, let sit for 1/2 hour to let the flavours marry)

Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Then add tuna mixture and sprinkle sesame seeds overtop all of the salad.



Next up is Deborah from Taste and Tell's French Onion Bread Soup , a recipe she adapted from Every Day with Rachel Ray.

French Onion Bread Soup

Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups beef broth
1/2 baguette, cut into small cubes
2 cups shredded gruyere or monterey jack

Preheat the oven to 450°. In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the onions are caramelized, about 45 minutes. (Rachel Ray's recipe only calls for 15 minutes of caramelization, by Deborah suggests closer to 45 minutes).





Stir in the wine and cook for 3 minutes. Add the beef broth, reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan.




Divide half of the bread cubes among four small ovenproof bowls



cover each with 1/4 cup cheese



Divide the soup among the bowls



then top with the remaining bread



and cheese



Set the bowls on a baking sheet and bake until the cheese is bubbling, about 10 minutes







Verdict: Both the soup and salad were great. I'm not the biggest onion fan in the world, so one small bowl of the soup was enough for me. But R loved the soup and ate so much of it that he had to sit and let the food digest for a while before he could move. Giz thinks I should have used more cheese...but I was satisfied with the amount I used.



I'm submitting the French Onion Bread Soup to Ruth's Kitchen Experiment's Bookmarked Recipes, a weekly event. StumbleUpon

24 comments:

giz said...

I love the idea of consciously making the bookmarked recipes. My file is starting to look like the Encyclopedia Brittanica - all the volumes.

That Girl said...

That soup just looks fantastic!

Peter M said...

Val's salad looks great and it would be a fine, healthy meal. The soup...Ummm....I wish we had one more cold spell so I can make this soup!

Melissa said...

my list is neverending as well. I figure we all have those, yeah?

I adore french onion soup and that looks delicious. I think the amount of cheese is good, but then again, I wasn't there to taste it.

NĂºria said...

Val has wonderful recipes in her blog and this salad is a great one, I'm sure!

And your onion soup looks delicious to me!!!!! Eventhough it has cheese I think I would have one bowl :D We have an onion soup similar to this one that still have never cooked!

Anonymous said...

OMG that french onion soup looks to die for. I love how the bread is diced in cubes. That's one to try!

Deborah said...

I'm so glad you tried the soup and liked it - even though you aren't an onion lover!! I also have about a million bookmarked recipes - it's really never ending!!

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

I love french onion soup! Great, now im really hungry!

grace said...

good for you! i've definitely come to terms with the fact that i'll never try out all the recipes in my ridiculously, irrationally massive collection. at least you're making a dent.

this might be an overshare, but the one time i had french onion soup, i really enjoyed it...until about an hour later. not fun, not fun at all. :)

Ruth Strong said...

Hi Psychgrad! So glad you got to join in this week! Great dish! I was eyeing it up myself!

Elle said...

I can almost smell those onions caramelizing! mmm!

I've passed along an award to you guys! See my blog, please. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh my... that soup. That soup looks sooooo good!

Emily said...

That soup looks amazing! Did you say your hubs didn't move because he was so full? That's hilarious. Reminds me of a trip to Red Lobster one time where I had to lay down in the booth.

Pixie said...

I've given up the starring bit- it's just accumulating till no end- which really sucks because there are so many dishes I've yet to try that I want to try- Including that Onion soup!

Nic said...

I have so many dishes that I've saved to try. The soup looks really good. Another one to add to the list. *sigh*

Nina Timm said...

I would love to try this soup and the way our weather is going it is going to be sooner than later. Love the mounts of bread...

Anonymous said...

Love the soup! I also use toasted bread cubes on my FOS... I think it makes it easier to eat and gives more surface for the cheese to melt into.

Anonymous said...

Yum! This looks so good! Hearty and delicious!

mimi said...

yes i know, i keep telling everyone their recipe is my next one to try!! but glad to know i'm not the only one with a list staring right back at them. and of course, this onion soup was on my list!

Jaime said...

i love french onion soup!

i agree - i'm never going to have the time to make all the recipes i've starred! :(

test it comm said...

That French onion soup looks so good!! The tuna salad sounds really tasty as well.

Anonymous said...

Gawdddddd! That looks SO freaking awesome. I cannot stand it! Can I have a bowl, please? Pretty please with cheese on top???

Neen said...

I've been wanting to try onion soup for a while and, typically, have bookmarked about 7 recipes for it.:) Maybe I'll get around to it sometime soon! BTW, thanks for the heads up about Ruth's event, that would be a lovely way to work through our mound-o-clippings!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I love the tuna version Psych, I always have cans of tuna in my cupboards.Thanks for the mention and so glad you enjoyed the salad!!

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