Fibro Soothing Soup

Cold weather lurks behind the coming clouds and months ahead. There are days that I find I don’t have the energy to put on lavish feasts, let alone the time. I used to make a French Onion Soup that required hours and hours and browning a whole bag of small white onions. My eyes would be bloodshot from crying and my nose would run furiously from the onion vapors.  I even tried cutting and cooking them with goggles on. It never failed; the sulfuric acid would seep into the tiny air vent holes. (Doh! Maybe I should have used swimmers goggles.) And what about the smell it left in the house? Yuck…it seemed to last for days.

After visiting a few local restaurants and sampling their French Onion Soups, I thought I could shorten the process dramatically.  They served it on their menu daily and the restraint didn’t reek of charred onions and leave me crying. They had to make it daily, so I set out on a quest and experimented in my kitchen with what I call Kelly’s Easy French Onion Soup. It takes as little as 45 minutes to be enjoying it from start to finish. I make this when I want to feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I know I have plenty for several days. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. As Julia would say: “Bon Appetite”

You will need:

1 large sweet white onion sliced thin

1 TBL minced garlic

1 TBL butter

1 TBL virgin olive oil

Using a large pot on medium heat, brown your onions and garlic in melted butter and olive until the onions start to become transparent. (To speed up the process, you can cover the pot so that the onions are steamed on a medium high heat.) Deglaze the pan with:

1 box chicken broth

1 box beef broth

Then add:

2 beef bullion cubes

1 TBL beef soup base

8 to 24 ounces of water (This depends on how strong you want the flavor)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 TBL parsley

1 TBL oregano

Simmer on low to med-high for 30 minutes. While soup is simmering, cut into ½” cubes an artisan bread such as Asiago Cheese Semolina or Parmesan Peppercorn. Toast the cubes of bread under the broiler so that both sides are browned.

Ladle the soup into a bowl; add croutons and a few shavings of Parmesana Reggiano and top with one slice of Swiss or Provolone cheese. Place under broiler until bubbly and brown. Serve with a sandwich if you like or soup alone. For a sweeter soup, add 2 cups of white wine. Dig in!