Kosher French onion soup

WriterMom ↓

Mon, Nov 09 2009, 11:19 pm

So, I grew up in a glatt treyf home. And I adored French onion soup (beef broth with onions, croutons, topped with cheese - I think Swiss.) Lately I've been craving that. So what's the best kosher approximation? I'm thinking I'd like to try a parve broth with real cheese, but I don't know how to get such a rich deep flavor with parve stock (and I don't like MSG-heavy powdered soup) so maybe I'd be better off using real beef soup with parve cheese. But does anyone know of a parve Swiss cheese that would get that lovely gooey, stringy texture when melting?

Any suggestions most welcome!

flowerpower

Mon, Nov 09 2009, 11:22 pm

I made several times delicious onion soup-I sauted a lot of onions-cut into circles and added some stuff, I made some garlic bread and put it on top with melted cheese. Whole pot always went.

↑ WriterMom

Mon, Nov 09 2009, 11:25 pm

Do you think tomatoes would be a good addition? I think they'd add color and flavor, DH isn't a huge fan of tomato soup and thinks not. But I'm not talking about a huge amount of it.

I'm also leaning towards parve soup-real cheese, partly because I don't want to know what goes into parve cheese Tongue Out

(I know, I know, probably soy and it's totally healthy. I just don't like faux dairy. I'd rather have fruit pie or sponge cake than parve cheesecake, etc.)

ra_mom

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 12:03 am

Use some white wine. It gives it a really nice flavor.
I find that sprinkling each boiling hot bowl of French onion soup with a lot of shredded mozzarella gives me nice stringy cheese.
http://imamother.com/forum/vie.....+soup

tanachit

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 12:51 am

I use dry/semi dry red wine and a homemade vegetable stock (no MSG). Also- if your bowls are oven safe, then you can broil the cheese

entropy

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 1:29 am

WriterMom wrote:

I'm thinking I'd like to try a parve broth with real cheese, but I don't know how to get such a rich deep flavor with parve stock

butter!

BeershevaBubby

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 1:33 am

Ale or lager I've been told gives it a nice beefy flavor.

mominisrael2

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 5:37 am

I only use a little bit of soup powder -- the trick I've found to flavor is to use a ton of onions and cook it for a REALLY long time -- I make it in the crockpot, the longer the better.

LuckyMum

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 5:46 am

lots of onion fried in butter till they are a deep gold color and than add the water and cook on a low flame for a loooong time. I sometimes add maybe a teaspoon or less of the msg stuff just to add alittle kick but it can be yummy without it too. spice it up well and serve with lots of garlic croutons and mozerella.

smilethere

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 7:28 am

a touch of cinnamon is really nice - I picked that up in a restaurant

I stopped using the horrible msg flavouring - a bay leaf adds a nice flavour

I recently started using a slice of american cheese and pouring boiling soup over, this way I can make a pareve soup, the cheese melts and adds a great flavour

Ima2NYM_LTR ↓

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 9:07 am

if you are ever in Monsey, go to Al Di La. They have a french onion soup to die for

DefyGravity

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 10:07 am

This is my #1 favorite onion soup recipe (from recipezaar http://www.recipezaar.com/Famo.....p-607)

SERVES 16 , 4 quarts

* 5 lbs onions, unpeeled
* 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) - I use just enough oil to sautee the onions
* 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
* 2 tablespoons paprika
* 1 bay leaf
* 7 (16 ounce) cans beef broth, divided (I use water mixed with chicken soup powder if I want it to be served with cheese - although sea salt gives enough flavor that you don't really need any soup powder)
* 1 cup dry white wine (optional) - I think this is an important ingredient and wouldn't leave it out
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour or instant flour (such as Wondra) - can leave this out, but I usually use regular flour
* caramel coloring (optional) or Kitchen Bouquet (optional)
* 2 teaspoons salt
* French baguette (optional)
* swiss cheese (optional) or gruyere cheese (optional)

1. Peel onions and slice 1/8 inch thick, preferably in a food processor.
2. Melt butter in a 6-quart (or larger) stockpot. Add onions; cook, uncovered, over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. (The long cooking time makes the onions mellow and sweet.) Stir in pepper, paprika and bay leaf; saute over low heat 10 minutes more, stirring frequently.
4. Pour in 6 cans broth and wine. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
5. Dissolve flour in remaining 1 can broth.
6. Stir into boiling soup.
7. Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 2 hours.
8. Adjust color to a rich brown with caramel coloring, season with salt. Refrigerate overnight. To serve, heat soup in microwave or on stove top.
9. If desired, pour into ovenproof crocks or bowls.
10. Top with a slice of bread and a sprinkling of grated cheese. Heat under the broiler until cheese melts and bubbles, about 5 minutes.
11. Leftover soup can be frozen.

sunny90

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 10:15 am

Ima2NYM_LTR wrote:

if you are ever in Monsey, go to Al Di La. They have a french onion soup to die for

Mmmmm...Al Di La...k I'm THIS close to drooling! My grandparents used to live next to Monsey and we used to go there all the time--I miss it!

↑ Ima2NYM_LTR

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 12:51 pm

sunny90 wrote:

Ima2NYM_LTR wrote:

if you are ever in Monsey, go to Al Di La. They have a french onion soup to die for

Mmmmm...Al Di La...k I'm THIS close to drooling! My grandparents used to live next to Monsey and we used to go there all the time--I miss it!

Unfortunately, a lot of there dishes have decreased in quality lately

chocolate moose

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 2:04 pm

I have a very easy and good recipe posted here. do a search under my name.

chanchy123

Tue, Nov 10 2009, 2:10 pm

I brown some flour and then make a roux (spl) with butter and milk sautee tons of onions add water and white wine season with salt pepper and I think thyme. I top with croutons and parmesan cheese. The secret is to make sure the onions are really caramelized before adding the liquids. I've obviously never had the treif version but I prefer my homemade really rich flavored soup to the MSG versions I've had at restaurants.