Autumn 2020 Cooking Tunes   

Sole Food: Comfort Food When Feeling Your Soul Trod Upon

In this year of 2020, often the days called for burying my head in the ground as an ostrich, whilst attempting to be more than myopic in viewing the grand scheme of life and what is important.  I had an epiphany and pulled my head out of the ground.  What is most important in life is our relationships to people; we are all important to someone and we need each other, especially when in need of a hug and a satisfying bowl of deliciousness.

So I send out these hugs to you, accompanied by a recipe for soup.  Nothing smacks more of comfort than a head to toe,  warming bowl of soup. Sure, we could quickly open a can of Campbell’s soup, add water and patiently stir on the stove for a few minutes to heat it.  Instead, I’d like to inspire us to work a bit harder and make soup from scratch.   Though it may seem arduous, the end result is well worth the effort. It all begins with an excellent stock. 

Rest assured, in future lessons we shall venture further into the art of stock-making as the basis for all sauces good.  For this lesson, we will learn how to prepare a beef stock.  The stock will then be used as the base of transformation into the royally peasant dish derived from the weekly table scraps – French Onion Soup.  As usual, please read through the recipe, assemble your mise en place and then cook away, my friends, cook away!

 

Before you begin, please turn up the volume on your device and have a hug from George

 

 

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. sweet onions peeled and sliced, then caramelized.

Yes, yes, yes, I know this seems like a whole lotta onions but the onions sweat out their liquid as the cells break down in the process, and we want as many onions per capita as possible.  Anyway, I view peeling and chopping onions as a sort of therapy.  Chop therapy, I call it.  This sort of therapy has helped me solve many a problem.  Although admittedly, sometimes we encounter situations where there just aren’t enough onions in the world to chop our way through to relief.  That’s why I have my spiritual advisor, attorney and insurance pros on speed dial.

• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• Sprig of fresh thyme
• 8 cups beef stock *stock recipe below*
• ½ c. robust red wine
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire
• 1/3 c. sweet vermouth or cognac
• S&P to taste
• 1 c. grated gruyere
• 1 stale baguette, sliced into rounds and toasted
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Beef Stock

• 3 lbs. pounds meaty beef stock bones (with lots of marrow)
• 3 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 large carrots, cut into 1-2 inch segments
• Handful of celery tops, or 1 large celery rib, cut into 1 inch segments
• 6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• Handful of parsley, stems and leaves
• 5 Bay leaves
• 10 peppercorns

To prepare:

1. Roast the meat, bones, and vegetables: Preheat oven to 425°F. Rub a little olive oil over the stew meat pieces, carrots, and onions. Place stock bones, stew meat or beef scraps, carrots and onions in a large, shallow roasting pan. Roast in oven for about 45 minutes, turning the bones and meat pieces half-way through the cooking, until nicely browned. If bones begin to char at all during this cooking process, lower the heat. They should brown, not burn.  When the bones and meat are nicely browned, remove them and the vegetables and place them in a large (12 to 16 quart) stock pot.
2. Add hot water and scrape up the browned bits on the sheet pan. These delish little bits are known as the fond, which you will soon realize why we are fond of the fond. Place the roasting pan on the stove-top on low heat (will cover 2 burners), pour 1/2 cup to a cup of hot water over the pan and use a metal spatula to scrape up all of the fond stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Pour the fond and water into the stock pot.
3. Add vegetables, water, bring to a low simmer:Add celery tops, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, and peppercorns to the stock pot.  Fill the stock pot with cold water, to 1 to 2 inches over the top of the bones. Put the heat on high and bring the pot to a low simmer and then reduce the heat to low.  If you have a candy or meat thermometer, the temperature of the water should be between 180° and 200°F (boiling is 212°F). The stock should be at a bare simmer, just a bubble or two coming up here and there. (You may need to put the pot on your smallest burner on the lowest temp, or if you are using an oven-safe pot, place it in the oven at 190°F.)  Cover the pot loosely and let simmer low and slow for 3-6 hours.  Do not stir the stock while cooking. Stirring will mix the fats in with the stock, clouding up the stock.
4. Skim scum and fat: As the stock cooks, fat will be released from the bone marrow and stew meat and rise to the top. From time to time check in on the stock and use a large metal spoon to scoop away the fat and the foamy residue that rises to the surface of the liquid.  Do not put this fat down your kitchen drain. It will solidify and block your pipes. Put it in a bowl or jar to save for cooking or to discard.
5. Remove solids and strain:At the end of cooking time (when you want to end the cooking is up to you, 3 hours minimum, 6 to 8 hours if you can do it) use a slotted spoon or spider ladle to gently remove the bones and vegetables from the pot (discard them, though if you see a chunk of marrow, taste it, it’s delicious).  Reserve the beef to add back to the soup.  Line another large pot (8-quart) with a fine mesh sieve, covered with a couple layers of cheesecloth if you have it.  Pour the stock through the sieve into the new soup cooking vessel to strain it of remaining solids.
6. Caramelize the onions. To make the caramelized onions, simply melt the 2 Tbsp butter with the EVOO in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add your onions and toss so that they are coated in the fats.  Let them cook for about 5 minutes, until they start to turn a bit golden on the bottom, and then give them a stir once around then a figure 8 in the pot.  Repeat for another 5 more minutes, then give them another good stir.  Continue this rhythm — stirring the onions every 3-5 minutes or so initially, then every 1-2 minutes near the end — until the onions have caramelized into a rich chestnut brown color.  (Anytime the onions look like they are starting to burn on the bottom of the pan, just add in a splash of wine or water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up that Fond on the bottom of the pan.)  Stir in a half cup of wine to fully deglaze the bottom of the pan once the onions are fully browned and caramelized.

• Add the remaining ingredients. Stir in the stock, Worcestershire, bay leaf and thyme together in a large stock pot, then let the soup continue to cook until it reaches a simmer.  Reduce heat and simmer for at least 10 minutes.  Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf, give the soup a taste, and season as needed with S&P. Finish off with the vermouth or cognac, if you’d like.

• Toast the bread.  While the soup is simmering, we can prepare the baguette by toasting individually sliced rounds it in the oven or in a toaster until golden.

• Place your oven-safe bowls on a thick baking sheet.  Ladle the soup into each bowl, top with the toasted bread and a handful of cheese.  Place the baking sheet on an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat and broil for 2-4 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly, keeping a close eye on the cheese so that it doesn’t burn.