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Here are two delicious onion soup recipes to choose from. The first one, Quick French Onion Soup, has been in my recipe collection for a long time. It has the traditional taste approach without the necessity of making your own home-made beef broth. Purists would argue it’s not quite as good. Casuals would say it’s sometimes even better. It depends on who the cook is.

The second recipe is a new one for me, Sweet Onion Soup. It is creamy and delicious and easy although not “almost instant” to make as the sweet onions (Walla Wallas, Vidalias, Mauis or Texas Sweets) must simmer for an hour to release all of their naturally sweet juices. Its worth the wait so try it, at least once.

QUICK FRENCH ONION SOUP

(Serves 6)
4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
4 Tbs. butter
6 cups rich beef broth (4 cans)
1 tsp. Worcestershire
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine or Vermouth (optional)
Pinch of powdered thyme (optional)
2 hard rolls
Grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a large pot with a cover. Slice onions and saute until golden. Pour beef broth over cooked onions. Add seasonings and wine. Simmer for 15 minutes, covered.

Pour soup into individual earthenware bowls or a large earthen casserole. Slice rolls and toast. Sprinkle slices with Parmesan and float them on top of the soup. Slide casserole or bowls under broiler about 4 inches from heat and broil until cheese turns brown. Remove and serve immediately.

SWEET ONION SOUP
(Serves 6)

3 sweet onions, chopped
2 Tbs. butter
1 cup cream or half and half (milk or skim milk)
1 cup beef stock, chicken stock or vegetable stock

Put butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onions until they are coated with butter. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour. Remove lid and you’ll find that the onions have released their sweet juices. Add cream or your choice of milk. Add stock and simmer uncovered until the soup has obtained the thickness and texture you prefer. For richer soup use less liquid. Salt and pepper to taste.

FYI (for your information)

One of the recipes above uses storage onions and one uses sweet onions. Storage onions are harvested in the fall, stored and delivered throughout the year. Sweet onions are fresh and are harvested in the spring and summer. Each has its own special place. Storage onions are more robust and great in spaghetti sauces, meat loaves, etc. They have the flavor assertiveness to combine with more aggressive ingredients and not get lost. Sweet onions are mild and delicious used raw, on sandwiches, in salads and in soups with subtle flavoring.

I first became aware of sweet onions as opposed to storage onions when we moved to Washington State over 30 years ago and discovered an onion, new to me, called the Walla Walla. I guess up to that point I just figured an onion was an onion and if I were lucky the onion I bought would be sweeter. Our mothers used to tell us, “The flatter the sweeter,” when choosing an onion in a grocery store. So that’s what we looked for.

The Sweet Onion Association advises us that the sugar level in a sweet onion is usually at least 6%. Some have recorded sugar levels up to 15%. The level in a storage onion is from 3 to 5%. Regular storage onions have higher levels of sulfur compounds, one of which, pyruvic acid, causes tears when we peel them.

When we were living in the Azores (little North Atlantic islands off the coast of Portugal) and storage onions were all we could get, our Portuguese house keeper could be seen, on nights when we were having onions, standing at the kitchen sink peeling onions, her eyes glued to the running water and holding a piece of white bread between her teeth. She was convinced that in doing so she would cry less. Maybe she was right.

Because sweet onions are fresh onions the water content is very high thus diluting the effect of the sulfur and lessening the effect of the pyruvic acid.

When we were living in Tacoma, Washington. and driving to Montana for visits we would stop at a farm stand on the way home and buy a 25 lb. bag of Walla Wallas. We shared with friends and enjoyed them as long as we could. If we could not use them all we would cut them in thick slices and put them in freezer bags for future use.

Placed in overlapping layers in a casserole and baked in the oven with just a little salt, pepper and butter added, sweet onions are heavenly. Sprinkled with parmesan cheese on top they're perfect. Bake them at 350 degrees for about an hour or until tender.

If you would like more information regarding onions go to www.sweetonionsource.com. You’ll find all sorts of interesting information.

It’s cold out side. Enjoy this perfect soup weather.

Martha

THE CASUAL COOK
by Martha Strom