Posts Tagged ‘Soup’

French onion soup has been prominent since early Roman times, when France, along with Luxembourg, Belgium and western Germany, was known as Gaul. The modern recipe is believed to have its origins in 18th century France. It is frequently thought that the silk workers in Lyon, famous for making great dishes with few resources, were the first to put the ingredients together to form the soup. Although French onion soup was considered a poor man’s food, another theory accredits King Louis XV as the first person to cook chunks of onions, champagne and butter together for a late night snack while staying at his hunting lodge.

The recipe has come a long way since that tasty late night nosh. Most modern recipes call for the onions to be caramelized in salt and butter or oil over very low heat. Caramelizing the onions brings forth the complex flavors of the onions and adds a brilliant, dark brown color. Once the onions are cooked, the pot can be deglazed with beef broth, cognac or sherry, and additional flavorings like bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce or au jus gravy mix can be blended in to enhance the flavor.

The soup is topped with croutons or a slice of French bread or baguette, and a healthy amount of Gruyere or Swiss cheese. It is finished off under a broiler to melt the cheese and toast the top of the bread or croutons. Individual ramekins or bowls of soup make broiling easy, although it is also possible to serve the soup at home from a stockpot with the broiled cheese-topped bread on the side. Read the rest of this entry »

This article is not so much about my own Chicken Soup Recipe, but more about how you can develop your own unique version. I think everyone who likes to cook chicken should be able to make a good soup with it. It’s a great way to use up leftovers, and an even better way to make sure you get enough vegetables in your diet.

While there are countless variations of techniques and ingredients in chicken soup, there is one constant that no one can do without: a good stock or broth. Without this your soup will have a watery taste, and that is no fun to eat. Also, a tasty broth is more likely to be healthier for you, since where there is flavor there is usually also nutrients. A good stock typically contains some gelatin, which comes from dissolved collagen from bones and connective tissue. Gelatin is great for carrying both flavor and nutrients because it can interact with organic molecules better than water can.

So does that mean you have to make your own chicken stock in order to have a good chicken soup recipe? Not necessarily, as there are many good chicken stocks available at grocery stores. I prefer the kind you get in boxes, but the canned stuff is usually good too. I’ll use the powdered or cubed stuff in a pinch, but I find they have too much salt and other flavor enhancers for my liking. I’m also not sure how much gelatin they contain, if any. Read the rest of this entry »