conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

soup

Here's as close as I can come to the recipe that I made Saturday evening. Please tell me how it works for you and if you have anything you need me to clarify.

Ingredients:

3 lg. white onions
2 lg. carrots
6 cloves garlic
1 c. water
1/4 c. white wine (Pinot Grigio worked well...You want something crisp...maybe 1/2 c.)
6 c. veggie broth
swiss chard
2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter (or more...mmm)
1/2 t. thyme
salt and pepper to taste

This is how I put it all together:

Heat the pot to medium, combining the oil and butter. Clean and slice the onions. You want to cut them along "the equator" so you have thin slices. I cut the onion in half and then cut the thin strips. You don't want rings. You just want thin strips. Put the onion in the pot with the hot oil/butter. Cook until the onions are golden brown. You want that color and flavor. Don't burn 'em. Just brown 'em. Mmmm.

While the onions are browning, peel and dice the carrots. You want them small-ish. Peel and slice the garlic as well. Don't crush the garlic, just slice it thinly. It makes for a lovely presentation when they float about in little translucent "chips." When the onions are browned, add the carrots and garlic. Let them "sweat" just a minute or two. Add the thyme. Stir. I covered the pot at this step.

After a minute or two, uncover the pot and add the wine. Let the alcohol cook out. Add the water, stir to bring things together and bring to a light boil. Once it gets to a boil, turn the heat to medium low (-ish) and let it simmer covered for 30 minutes. You want to let this onion broth come together.

Add the rest of your broth. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on low for an hour. Salt and pepper to taste. Five minutes before you serve, chiffonade the chard. Add to the broth and stir so the chard doesn't clump. Nothing worse than clumping chard in your soup! Heh.

Ladle into your bowls. Enjoy.

Posted by tripp at November 13, 2007 09:13 PM