“I have always extolled both their nutritional and health benefits, in part to help dispel the general fear of mushrooms…,” ~ Andrew Weil, MD
Onion Soup with a twist
As I have said before, my mother was a very good baker. Main meals in our house were good but plainer. Trying to please four children wasn’t an easy task. There was a lot of “Mom, what is that green stuff?” and “I don’t like that” even though we never ate one bite.Therefore, the idea of serving mushrooms never entered my mother’s mind.
I remember the first time I ate a mushroom. My grandmother served them as a side dish. They were golden brown, sautéed in butter and utterly delicious. Her kitchen smelled so good. I was only 10 years old; and that memory is as vivid as if it happened yesterday. I guess once a foodie always a foodie.
There are many articles that extol the benefits of mushrooms. They are low in fat and cholesterol. They are also a great source of potassium, more than a banana.
So I started to think of something new to do with them. I recently had onion soup and the idea of combining the onions and mushrooms seemed good.
While looking through Rachael Ray’s My Year in Meals, I found her version of this soup. It wasn’t a new idea after all.
Gather the ingredients
I used a combination of white button and portabella mushrooms. Rachael’s recipe used all wild mushrooms which would be more expensive.
Get started
In a 5 quart Dutch oven, add three tablespoons of olive oil and three tablespoons of butter. Melt the butter and add the onions, shallots, bay leaves and thyme. Cook until the onions are golden brown, (caramelized) sweet and soft, about 30 minutes.
While the onions are cooking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and cook until well browned. Season with salt and pepper.
When the onions have caramelized, add the dry sherry and scrape up all the bits on the bottom of the pan.
Add the mushrooms, garlic and beef stock. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toast 4 slices of crusty French or Italian bread. This helps to keep the bread from getting soggy when you place in on top of the soup.
Put the soup into four onion soup crocks. Top with a piece of toast. Top the toast with ¼ cup of grated Gruyere cheese. Place under the broiler and brown until bubbly.
Serve and enjoy.
French Onion Soup with Mushrooms Recipe
By Published: May 3, 2013
- Prep: 30 mins
- Cook: 45 mins
- Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
Adapted from" My Year in Meals" pg. 189
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 6 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
- 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
- salt and pepper to taste to taste
- 1 cup dry sherry
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 4 cups beef stock
- 4 slices crusty bread French or Italian
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients. I used a combination of white button and portabella mushrooms. Rachael’s recipe used all wild mushrooms which would be more expensive.
- In a 5 quart Dutch oven, add three tablespoons of olive oil and three tablespoons of butter. Melt the butter and add the onions, shallots, bay leaves and thyme. Cook until the onions are golden brown, (caramelized) sweet and soft, about 30 minutes.
- While the onions are cooking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and cook until well browned. Season with salt and pepper.
- When the onions have caramelized, add the dry sherry and scrape up all the bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the mushrooms, garlic and beef stock. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toast 4 slices of crusty French or Italian bread. This helps to keep the bread from getting soggy when you place in on top of the soup.
- Put the soup into four onion soup crocks. Top with a piece of toast. Top the toast with ¼ cup of grated Gruyere cheese. Place under the broiler and brown until bubbly.
- Serve and enjoy.
