French Onion Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 20 min Servings: 4 to 6 servings Source: cooking.nytimes.com

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 to 4 large red or yellow onions (about 3 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

2 quarts beef stock (8 cups)

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon dry sherry

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste

8 to 12 (1/2-inch) slices French bread (from 1 loaf)

1 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese

Directions

Melt butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stir and cover, letting onions soften for 5 minutes. Remove lid and let onions caramelize until golden brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Adjust heat if onions are browning too quickly. The caramelization process may take 45 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm broth in a saucepan over low heat.

Once onions are caramelized, add wine and sherry to the pot and allow mixture to come to boil. Stir in flour and let thicken for a minute or two.

Slowly add warm broth, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper to the onion mixture and boil uncovered for 10 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the broiler, and arrange individual ovenproof casseroles on a baking sheet. Ladle soup into casseroles, and cover top with bread slices. Sprinkle each casserole generously with Gruyère. Broil for a minute or two, watching carefully, until cheese melts and browns. Serve immediately.

Notes

You can prepare the soup through step 4 up to 2 months in advance. Thaw and reheat, then top with the bread and cheese and broil to serve.

Rich Beef Stock

Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 7 hrs Servings: Servings: 8 servings Source: thespruceeats.com

Ingredients

5 to 6 pounds beef bones and trimmings

2 medium onions, peeled, quartered

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

2 stalks celery, with leaves, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 1/2 quarts water, divided

1 large bay leaf, or 2 small bay leaves

3 to 4 sprigs fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 to 2 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Directions

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.

Trim larger pieces of beef from the bones and cut into 1-inch pieces. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 F.

Put the bones and beef pieces in an extra-large roasting pan. Roast, turning a few times so the beef browns evenly, about 40 minutes.

Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pan. Stir in the oil into the pan being sure to coat mixture.

Roast for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours more, turning a few times so the mixture roasts evenly.

Transfer the beef and vegetables to a large stockpot and set aside.

Pour off any excess grease from the roasting pan and place over medium heat. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture darkens, about 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups of the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the the heat to low and simmer, scraping the brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pan.

Add the tomato paste mixture to the stockpot, along with the remaining 3 quarts of water. If the liquid doesn't quite cover the bones, add a little more water.

Add the bay leaf, parsley, thyme, and peppercorns.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim off any foamy scum from the top.

Reduce the heat to a simmer, partially cover, and simmer for 4 to 6 hours, or until the flavors become rich and concentrated.

Strain through a cheesecloth-lined strainer into a large bowl. Discard the solids. Let the liquid come to room-temperature before covering and transferring to the refrigerator.

When the fats solidify, skim from the surface and discard.

Ladle into 1-, 2-, or 4-cup freezer containers or jars, leaving about an inch of headspace. Refrigerate and use within four days or freeze for up to three months.

How to Store and Freeze

Beef stock can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.

To freeze beef stock, place in an airtight freezer-safe container, glass jar, or bag—leaving enough room for expansion—and freeze for up to three months.

Notes

The stock will expand as it freezes, so if using glass jars, it's especially important to leave plenty of headspace.

To be safe, leave the tops resting on the jars until the stock is frozen, then screw them on, but not too tight.​

Keep food storage bags in the freezer, one for meat scraps and one for vegetable trimmings so you can make both beef and vegetable broth easily at home.

Potato Leek Soup

Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Servings: Servings: 6 Source: onceuponachef.com

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 large leeks, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped (about 5 cups)

3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped into ½-inch pieces

7 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

Chives, finely chopped, for serving

Directions

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the leeks and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until soft and wilted, about 10 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary so as not to brown.

Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper to pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft.

Fish out the thyme sprig and bay leaves, then purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth. (Alternatively, use a standard blender to purée the soup in batches; see note.) Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If soup is too thin, simmer until thickened. If it's too thick, add water or stock to thin it out. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.

Notes

Note: If using a standard blender to purée the soup: be sure not to fill the jar more than halfway; leave the hole in the lid open and cover loosely with a dishtowel to allow the heat to escape; and pour blended soup into a clean pot.

Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen, without the cream, for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. Once heated through, add the cream and bring to a simmer before serving.

Italian White Bean Soup – Gluten & Dairy Free

Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Servings: 6 servings Source: thebetteredblondie.com

Ingredients

Spicy (or mild) Italian Sausage

Onion

Carrots

Celery

Garlic

Chicken Broth

White Beans (cannellini)

Fresh Spinach

Rosemary

Bay Leaves

Coconut Milk (for dairy free); if not dairy free – you can use heavy cream

Salt & Pepper Flakes

1 Tbls Olive Oil

1 lb Spicy Italian Sausage ground

1 Yellow Onion small, diced

3 cloves Garlic minced

3 Carrots peeled & diced

2 stalks Celery diced

4 cups Chicken Broth

1 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

2 Cans of White Beans (drained) 14.5 oz, cannellini

2 cups Spinach fresh

1 sprig Rosemary

2 Bay Leaves

1 cup Full Fat Coconut Milk

Directions

Let’s Make Soup:

I use a dutch oven for this recipe – you can use any soup pot. The oil gets added to the pot over medium heat. Then we add the sausage until mostly cooked through.

Then we add in the aromatics (carrots, onion, celery & garlic) these get cooked with the sausage for about 3 minutes. This helps them start to develop flavor and soften a bit.

The remaining ingredients (except coconut milk and spinach) get added in. We bring this to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes. Then discard bay leaves & rosemary sprig.

The last step is to stir in the coconut milk (or cream if using) and the fresh spinach. The spinach will wilt perfectly into the hot soup. Remove from heat and serve!

In a soup pot, heat oil over medium heat and cook the ground Italian sausage until mostly cooked through

Then add in the onion, carrots, garlic and celery. Cook for 3 minutes until the onions are translucent and the carrots are slightly tender

Add in the chicken broth, salt, pepper flakes, beans, rosemary and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 15 minutes

Discard rosemary and bay leaves. Stir in the coconut milk and spinach. Remove from heat and serve.

Peanut Curry Lentil Soup

Source: gimmesomeoven.com

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

5 to 6 cups vegetable broth

1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into ¾-inch cubes

3/4 cup brown lentils

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

1 (15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk

2 cups chopped fresh kale

2 tablespoons natural creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons lime juice (approximately 1 lime)

fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

toppings: chopped fresh cilantro and finely-chopped peanuts

Directions

Sauté the veggies. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.

Simmer. Add the vegetable broth, sweet potatoes, lentils, curry paste and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low (or whatever temperature is needed to maintain a low simmer), cover, and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until both the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender.

Finish. Stir in the coconut milk, kale, peanut butter and lime juice until completely combined. Taste and season the soup with salt and pepper, if needed. Feel free to also add in more curry paste or peanut butter to taste.

Serve. Serve warm, garnished with cilantro and chopped peanuts, and enjoy!

Secret recipe

Norwegian Sweet Soup (Søtsuppe)

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Source: sofn.com

Ingredients

5 cups water

1/4 cup large pearl tapioca

1 cup chopped prunes

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup mixed dried fruit, chopped

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Zest from 1 lemon

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

Soak tapioca in water overnight. In the morning, add fruit, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest.

Cook over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan until tapioca is clear and the fruit is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Allow to cool. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

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