Delicious Lifetime Memories, Onions Are The Spice Of Life

December 31, 2021,

We probably have something in common.

After eating a flavorful hamburger, delicious burrito, a healthy zesty salad or finishing off some smooth and spicy soup, have you ever taken a moment to give thanks to the onions involved?

Maybe without saying so but at least you thought about it, true?

Onions can so easily be taken for granted but the flavor they add to foods in boundless.

Onions contribute savory flavor to dishes without contributing significant caloric content.

If you are gaining weight after eating fast foods, it is not because of the onions.

Onions are commonly chopped and used as an ingredient in various hearty warm dishes, and may also be used as a main ingredient in their own right, for example in French onion soup, creamed onions, and onion chutney. They are versatile and can be baked, boiled, braised, grilled, fried, roasted, sautéed, or eaten raw in salads.

Onions are cultivated and used around the world. As a food item, they are usually served cooked, as a vegetable or part of a prepared savory dish, but can also be eaten raw or used to make pickles or chutneys.

One of the places that onions are grown in a unique environment is Nevada.

Nevada’s Department of Agriculture shares, “Agriculture is one of Nevada’s most important industries, contributing significantly to the economies of rural communities and the state as a whole. Nevada’s ranches may be few in number, but they rank third in the nation in size, averaging 3,500 acres.

Despite Nevada’s arid climate, excellent crops are produced where land can be irrigated. Alfalfa hay is the leading cash crop of the state. Additional crops produced in Nevada include potatoes, barley, winter and spring wheat, corn, oats, onions, garlic and honey.”

A farm that takes special delight in bringing us the most exquisite onions is Snyders.

At their home nevadagrown.com they welcome and educate, “A family farm located in the high desert of western Nevada, the Snyder family has been ranching in the Mason Valley area since the mid-1800s.

Onions grown in Northern Nevada are highly sought after. The local climate makes for a more durable winter onion. Whites, reds, yellows, and sweets thrive in the conditions of the Mason Valley. We’ve been in the onion business for decades, so you can bet we know a good onion when we see it.”

Sounds enticing.

We’re starting to get hungry. Is it almost lunchtime or dinner where you are at?

Some onion soup might liven things up with you meal.

We have a visiting female writer with a delicious idea.

Onion Soup – Country Style With Cheese and Bread

By Susan McGourty

Onion Soup is a classic country recipe favorite. It’s a great choice when you’re on a strict budget. Onion soups have been popular with poor people as far back as Roman times, because onions were always easy and plentiful to grow. And the ingredients of the soup were almost always at hand: beef or chicken broth, onions, cheese and dry bread. Onion soup got re-popularized in the 1960’s by Julia Child with her cookbooks and television shows. It was one of her favorite soups.

This recipe is a recipe my mother-in-law taught me, and then I gave it my personal touch. This recipe has got to be one of the best-tasting onion soups we’ve ever tasted! First a large quantity of thinly sliced onions are cooked down into a caramelized mixture of thinly sliced onions. Then broth is added to give the soup its liquid and it’s slowly simmered for a couple of hours.

To serve, you place a slice of toasted French bread in the bottom of each soup bowl, and top each slice of bread with a slice of Gruyere Cheese. Then you ladle in the hot thick onion soup on top of the bread and cheese. Then sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese and a little paprika for accent and place in the oven until bubbly and lightly browned.

Oh My God! Is this ever good! It’s so very elegant, inexpensive to make and wonderfully filling! You never have to be embarrassed to serve this soup! This is an easy straight-forward recipe that’s a perfect choice If you have the time required to cook-down the onions, and the time it takes for the soup to simmer.(Or make the soup a day in advance! It only gets better!) Also, if you use a Food Processor to slice the onions (2mm,) the prep process is much easier.

You can serve this soup in small bowls as an appetizer, or larger bowls as an entree. Because I use a combination of both chicken and beef broth, it’s very filling. You won’t miss “the meat!” Just serve it with a nice salad and a glass of red wine! The recipe below is for the entree-sized soup bowls.

Preparation time: 30
minutes Cooking time: 2 hours
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 Extra-large onions , thinly sliced
• 5 to 6 Medium Cloves garlic ,chopped
• 3 ounces unsalted butter
• 4 Tablespoons Extra-virgin Olive oil
• 1/3 to 1/2 Cup flour
• 1 Large Can (49 ounces) reduced sodium Chicken broth
• 1 Package (32 ounces) reduced sodium Beef broth
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons Dried Thyme
• 1/4 teaspoons Poultry Seasoning
• French Bread
• 8 to 12 Slices Gruyere Cheese
• 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• Paprika
• 6 Oven-proof soup bowls

Preparation Directions.

1. In a large stockpot, melt thebutter over medium-low heat. Add in the olive oil. and warm-up.
2. Add in the sliced onions,separating the onion segments, giving the onions plenty of volume. As the onions start to cook down, be sure to bring up the oil-butter from the bottom of the pot and keep folding over the onions. You may need to add additional olive oil if the mixture starts to burn.
3. Simmer onions until lightly golden. Add in the garlic and mix thoroughly throughout the onion mixture.
4. When the garlic is fragrant, add in the salt and pepper then stir a couple of times more then sprinkle in the flour. Blend the flour into the onion-garlic mixture and cook for two to three minutes stirring constantly.
5. Add in the Chicken broth and stir well. Then add in the Beef broth and stir well to combine.
6. Add in the Thyme and Poultry Seasoning. Stir well to distribute throughout the soup.
7. Partially cover with lid and let simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. Correct seasonings.
8. Just before dinner, cut a loaf of French bread into half-inch slices. Toast lightly on both sides under the broiler.
9. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
10. Place each slice of bread in bottom of soup bowls. Top each slice of bread with a slice of Gruyere cheese.
11. Ladle in the hot onion soup over the bread in each bowl. Fill up each bowl to almost the top of bowl.
12. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese on tops of soup. Accent with a dash of paprika for presentation.
13. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for ten to fifteen minutes -or until bubbly
14. Serve and get ready for Bliss!

Serving Suggestions.

This soup is such a show-stopper! Serve with a nice salad and a glass of red wine such as a Sangiovese or Zinfandel.

Susan McGourty is a resident and vineyard owner on the California Central Coast. A former restaurant owner and professional cook, she writes about food and cooking techniques and is the food and recipe editor for TheRomanticTable.Com. Her cooking and recipe blog is at http://theromantictable.com/cooking-with-sue.php

For more recipes, food and wine news and ideas, visit the TheRomanticTable.Com http://theromantictable.com – an online magazine about food, wine and recipes from the California Central Coast.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Susan_McGourty/96891

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2101737

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