Cheesy Onion and Cumin Soup

It is currently 9 am and 9 chilly degrees as I write this story in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Hello winter!
For the first time in my life, I decided to make the very famous French onion soup. And what a great choice it was. Making a wonderful appearance from a hot oven, like a cheesy volcanic eruption, this soup is perfectly suited for the cold season.
Of course, me being me, I couldn’t make this classic dish without giving it my own touch. As I gently sautéed the onions for this golden soup, I had a flash of divine inspiration from the culinary gods, somewhere from the faraway heavens. They whispered to me to add a smidgen of cumin to the onions, helping to round out the flavours and to complement the molten cheese in the finished soup. Thank You!

I have 2 points of importance in preparing this potage:

1. You will need to make your own brown stock. I say this, not because I have anything against stock cubes and their convenience, but only because this soup is made from a very basic flavor profile, which includes onion, stock, cheese and bread. In other words, there isn’t really much there to begin with, and using stock cubes just wont cut it. Stock cubes lack body. If you make this soup from stock cubes you will be very disappointed- it will taste of salty onion water. Making stock isn’t very hard at all and for this dish you need not worry about keeping it crystal clear. Just cook some beef on the bone (beef shin is perfect), with onion, celery, carrot, parsley stalks, bay, thyme and peppercorns, covered with water, very very gently. Do not boil and keep it under the simmer. The water should barely move. It should be ready after about 3 hours, but if you are low on time, 1 hour is fine.


2. The bread used is of great importance. Buy a real loaf of bread from a real baker. Not from Brumbys, or Bakers Delight. And certainly not from a Vietnamese bakery. You will need a dense, heavy white bread, with a solid crust. Phillipas bakery makes superb bread in this fashion- I used her Pane Francese Naturale. If you use bad bread, your soup will have the texture of glue, and the taste of cheap bread mix. You have been warned…

Ingredients
50g unsalted cultured butter
1 kilo brown onions, peeled and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 –2 tsp ground cumin
300ml dry white wine
1.5 litres homemade stock, rich and brown
Bouquet of herbs (fresh bay, thyme, parsley)
4 slices European style bread, crusty and dense
200g gruyere cheese, grated
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Fresh chopped parsley, to garnish

Method
You will need a wide saucepan able to accommodate the onions. Over the lowest heat cook the onions, garlic, sugar, cumin and cumin for 1 hour. Stir from time to time.The onions should be golden brown, sweet and aromatic after this time.
Transfer the onion mix to a soup pot.
Deglaze the saucepan you used to cook the onions with the white wine and then pour into the soup pot also.
Add the stock and bouquet of herbs and simmer for 30minutes (or longer if you wish).
Turn the oven to 200c.
Place a slice of bread into 4 deep oven proof soup bowls. Place the soup bowls on a baking tray.
Season the onion soup and ladle over the pieces of bread.
Sprinkle over the cheese and bake until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown.
Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
Nothing else is needed with this soup, it is so delicious and satisfying. Serves 4.

Potato Gnocchi with Spinach & Gruyere sauce

There are two ways of preparing Gnocchi. One way with potato, flour and egg. The second way, with potato and a touch of flour. I cannot decide which I prefer. I like them both. So today I will post the egg enriched version, and the other method, sometime in the future. This recipe is pretty much foolproof - You do not need to worry about delicate handling, like the eggless version and the final result is still light and fluffy. This is like eating little clouds of potato (how poetic). Use Desiree potatoes for best results. The following recipe is my grandmothers.

Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients
1 kilo Desiree potatoes
150 g flour
2 eggs (organic and free range)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp salt
Fresh white pepper
Fresh black pepper
About 1 Tbsp of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
A generous scraping of nutmeg

Method
Cut the potatoes into halves, or quarters (if they are large) and steam them over boiling water. They will be tender in about 20 minutes. Steaming the potatoes will preserve their natural flavour. Boiling the potato will result in bland sogginess.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, tear away the skins. Push the potatoes through the fine disk of the mouli. (I must mention here that I would be an unhappy person without my mouli. I know they are old fashioned, but I find the result better than using a masher. Even for other purees I almost always prefer the mouli, over the food processor. It is much easier to clean too).
Add the flour to the potato puree and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
Mix the eggs in a smaller bowl.
Add the egg gradually to the potato.
Add the remaining ingredients and give it a final mix. The mixture will resemble choux pastry, but not as stiff. It helps if somebody else holds the bowl down, as you mix.
Cover the bowl and set aside.
When you are ready to poach the gnocchi, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil.
Add a generous amount of salt.
There are two ways of assembling the gnocchi:

1. Take two long handled teaspoons (sorbet spoons). Using one spoon take a teaspoon of the mixture and with the other spoon, slide it in the simmering water.
   


2. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and as you squeeze the bag over the water, cut the gnocchi with scissors so it falls gently into the simmering water.
   

Continue forming the gnocchi into the saucepan. Do not over fill the pot (you will need to do this in batches. Keep them warm in a low oven, as you poach the rest). Make sure the water remains at a constant simmer, rather than a fast boil. The gnocchi are delicate and will break if the water boils too hard. Serve the gnocchi with a sauce .
Enough for 4 people.
Note-Prepare the mixture on the day you need it. The mixture will turn a murky grey colour on standing.

Spinach and gruyere sauce

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
30g butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
250g baby spinach leaves
250ml organic cream
Fresh black pepper
40g gruyere cheese, grated
100g bacon, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Method
Melt the butter over a low heat, with the oil and garlic. Cook this gently for 2 minutes. Do not allow the garlic to colour.
Add the spinach leaves, turn up the heat to high, and cook the leaves turning them over constantly. The spinach is ready as soon as the leaves have wilted. Don’t over cook the spinach-You want retain the fresh flavour and a vivid green colour.
Add the cream and let it bubble for a few seconds.
Puree the lot, using a hand blender or a food processor.
Pour back into the saucepan and leave it for a moment.
Saute the bacon, with a touch of oil, until crispy.
Add this to the spinach puree.
Add the gruyere.
Heat gently, melting the cheese into the sauce.
Finish with pepper.
Spoon over the gnocchi and drizzle over a touch of extra virgin olive oil.

I must say this sauce is lovelier than the usual tomato sauce often served with gnocchi.