herbs – Page 10 – Myfrenchkitchen

Winter has suddenly hit us with a bang and out came the soups of which onion soup is a favorite. The secret of a good onion soup rests on a good stock (preferably homemade) and of course the slow, deep caramelizing of the onions. If you want a quick soup for dinner, this is not it. But no doubt, for a cold day, an onion soup, topped with a melted cheese crouton, is pure heaven.

Pincée de fleur de sel:

The longer you can caramelize your onions, the more flavorful they will be. It is a myth that onions can be caramelized within 10 minutes.
I cut my onions in quarters and then slice the quarters finely, because I don’t like long strips dripping soup from my spoon.
To serve country style, serve the soup in a tureen with the croutons on top and serve each portion from the tureen.
It can also be served individually by placing a slice of bread on the soup, top with cheese and grill for a few minutes to melt the cheese.
Don’t be skimpy with the thyme as it adds to the flavor.
To really serve a soup and not soaked bread, don’t serve too much bread in the soup, for it soaks up a lot of the liquid and you will be left with only onions and soaked bread.
Serve the soup hot in warmed bowls.

..a variety of onions..

..onions cut into quarters and sliced thinly, cooked until translucent and caramelized until dark and soft…

…countrybread, called a tourte here inCorréze, sliced and torn into smaller portions..

..Vieux Cantal( aged Cantal cheese) broken into small chunks and sprinkled on the bread and soup for a country dinner..

To all my American friends and readers…have a Happy Thanksgiving!

..à la prochaine fois..

Ronelle

Vegetables are part of our every day healthy diet, right? Five portions of different fruit and veggies every day. Yes, that is what we are advised here in France. I try my best to adhere to that..in any case, we love fruit and we love our vegetables. On the menu here are thus some carrots of all colours served with Greek yoghurt and a sauce flavoured with orange flower water.

Pincée de fleur de sel:

Serve the carrots warm in fall and winter as a starter on individaul plates.
Serve cold with salad leaves in summer.
The sauce can be kept in the fridge for about two weeks.
Add orange juice to the sauce with the vinegar and reduce to a syrup.
Use an orange flower honey if possible, but otherwise a wildflower honey can work too.

..parsnips can serve as “white carrots”..

..when using young and organic carrots, it isn’t necessary to peel, only wash and use..

*recipe adapted from “Les légumes de Monsieur Wilkinson; Matt Wilkinson.

Like the carrots, my chickens are rainbow coloured too. And I adore them, no doubt about that. Every day is a story that unfolds before me from the morning to the evenings when silence dawns finally on the chicken coop.

..keeping an eye on the cooking in the barn kitchen…