Soup For You!

I love soup. One of my favorite things about the weather getting cooler is that I get to make soup.

In this edition, I will post two of my favorites -- French Onion and Tomato.

I made French Onion Soup last night. I used a beef stock I made the other night while making another soup -- vegetable beef.

Here's your "bonus" soup: I chunked up a chuck roast, with the bone, and boiled it for an hour - skimming the scum, and then added cabbage, carrots, potatoes and onion, and a bouquet garni of garlic, sage, rosemary, tarragon and thyme. But I used about 4 cups more water than I needed. I took out the extra liquid, and the bone, then added salt and pepper to taste and cooked another 30 minutes.

What liquid I took off, along with the bone and bouquet garni, went back into a pot, and cooked, covered, another 45 minutes to render the stock.

French Onion Soup

In a large enameled iron pot,
Sautee 4 large vidalia onions, sliced thin, pole-to-pole, in 3 Tbsp unsalted butter until cooked down and caramelized to a mahogany brown (about 45 minutes).
Add two cloves of minced garlic
Add 1 Tbspn salt and a dusting of flour to onions, stirring to make a roux
Pour in enough dry white wine on to cover the onions, and cook down to a thin syrup consistency (another 30 minutes).
Add three cups of beef stock
Add 1/2 tsp black pepper
Add 1 sprig of fresh tarragon,
Add 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
Add 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
Bring it to a boil, reduced it to a simmer, coverand cook for 15 more minutes
While soup is finishing, slice a baguette on the diagonal and toast, and shred 1 cup of aged gruyere cheese.
Splash the soup with a jigger of cognac
Pour into large soup mugs, place a toasted baguette on each and cover with the cheese and broil on high for another four minutes, until the cheese was melted and starting to brown.
 
"Thomas" Tomato Soup
There is a nice little restaurant by the hospital that I go to all the time. It's called "Thomas". The guys who own it are really cool. They play great music overhead -- in fact that's where I heard "Pickin' on Zeppelin". The waitress is a Celtic music groupie, and cute as a bug.

They have a house tomato-basil soup that rocks. They have menu item that is a grilled cheese (ciabatta, grilled in a panini press with olive oil, filled with four cheeses - havarti, brie, cheddar and gouda), served with a bowl of this soup. It is one of my favorite meals anywhere. I asked Brian - one of the owners - for the recipe, figuring he'd laugh and tell me it was a big secret or something. Instead, he wrote it on a napkin and gave it to me, and told me to share it.

Here it is:
Thomas Restaurant Tomato Soup Recipe

1 can of #10 tomatoes (San Marzano tomatoes with basil)
½ pint of heavy cream
1 cup (handful) of fresh basil leaves (coarse chopped)
1 yellow onion diced very fine
1 pint chicken stock (boxed or fresh)
1 teaspoon garlic (powder, or 2 cloves finely minced)
2 oz olive oil
1 tablespoon of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (add more to taste if you like)
1/8 teaspoon chili power

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent/soft, but not brown
Add 1 can of tomatoes, chicken stock, fresh basil and bring to a hard boil.
Reduce to simmer and add chili power and Parmesan cheese. Simmer 20 minutes. Adjust salt to taste.
(At this point, you can can it, freeze it, or whatever, and reheat later, if you want)

Add heavy cream. Puree with immersion blender, garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

What are your favorite soups? Post in comments.