Rita Nader Heikenfeld
| Special to Cincinnati Enquirer
My yellow garden onions have started to sprout. Once that happens, they need to be used up. My first thought was French onion soup, steaming bowls of chill-chasing oniony, beefy goodness.
And in my own way, making French onion soup honors friend and colleague, chef Jean-Robert de Cavel. This internationally famous, French-born chef, who we in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky proudly called our own, passed away recently at the age of 61 after a valiant cancer battle.
Everyone who knew him has a story, so I’ll share this early memorable one. We met in the mid-nineties when he was fairly new to Cincinnati. At the time he was chef de cuisine at Maisonette Restaurant.
At the Table:To honor Jean-Robert de Cavel, Cincinnati should go big
Jean-Robert taught a class at my cooking school. It was his first experience teaching a class. He jokingly said it will help improve his English accent. Anyway, we had a limit of 50 students. Over 150 people registered. Now this was before social media. We brought in more chairs and somehow managed to seat 100 people. Each person went home with a happy tummy and recipes, along with a fondness and respect for this young, uber-talented, sincere chef.
I will miss him, especially in spring when I harvest watercress and in autumn gathering wild mushrooms. He was always delighted to receive them.
French onion soup with garlic rubbed croutons
Bermuda or Spanish onions are classic onions used in this soup. But use what you have. I had regular yellow skin onions so that’s what I used.
Serves 6-8.
Ingredients soup
5 or so heaping cups very thinly sliced onions
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
8 cups beef broth
Ingredients croutons
6-8 round croutons
Melted butter
Garlic clove
8 oz Gruyere or Swiss cheese, shredded
Instructions soup
Melt butter and oil over medium heat in large pot.
Add onions and coat with fat, then cook, stirring often, until they soften and caramelize. Onions will get a lovely, caramel colored golden brown.
As onions cook and release steam, natural sugars stick to bottom of pan. This sticky, flavorful, glaze/fond dissolves when liquid is added. Caramelization takes up to 40 minutes, so be patient. If onions start to burn, just lower heat.
Pour wine into pan and scrape up all the brown bits. This is called deglazing.
Add bay leaves and broth. Lower to a simmer and add salt and pepper.
Simmer until flavor is to your liking. Mine took 30 minutes.
Remove bay leaves.
Instructions croutons
Cut rounds of French or any hearty bread into circles. Brush with melted butter. Toast one side by running under broiler quickly.
Rub top lightly with garlic, then top with cheese.
If you have oven-proof bowls, ladle soup into bowls and top with crouton. Run under broil until cheese melts.
If you don’t have oven-proof bowls, place cheese croutons on baking sheet, run under broiler until cheese melts, then top each bowl with crouton.
Tip:
No bay leaves? No worries. With a good quality beef broth, soup will still be yummy. A shake of dry thyme is a good substitute.
Dining and Cooking