Plat du Jour

Soupe à l'Oignon (Onion Soup)

 

We went on a mad shopping spree this week and a number of Le Creuset pots just so happened to find their way from the store's shelves to the ones in our kitchen. So, I thought it might be nice to break our lovely French pots in by cooking something decidedly French... onion soup. This is an amazingly simple dish, but it's incredibly satisfying to eat, especially when the weather turns cold, as it has done here of late. This recipe will feed four, and if it's decidedly nippy out, you could add two or three tablespoons of cognac to the soup just before serving... that will certainly warm your cockles.

Ingredients:

1½ lb (700 g) onions, halved and then sliced into 3mm slices (Roscoff or Spanish onions work well)

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp olive oil

½ level tsp sugar

2 tbsp flour

2 pints (1.2 litres) hot  vegetable stock (from Marigold Swiss bouillon powder)

10 fl oz (275 ml) dry white wine, boiled for 30 seconds to remove the alcohol (we used a Riesling)

salt and freshly milled black pepper

baguette, cut into 1-2 cm thick slices

8 oz (225 g) Gruyère, grated

 

Cooking Instructions:

Begin by melting the butter and oil together in a large heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole of 6 pint (3.5 litres) capacity on a medium heat. Add the onions and soften for about 5 minutes (see photo below), stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.

Add the sugar and a pinch of salt and continue cooking for 20–30 minutes, until the onions are an even, rich brown caramel colour, remembering to stir to prevent burning. It's important not to stir too often, as this will prevent the onions from caramelising, so let them sit for a minute or two, so they stick a bit but don't burn, before moving them about.

Above: The onions as they begin to caramelise. My photos turned out a bit orange... in real life the onions went golden brown.

Only when the onions are soft enough to crumble between your finger and thumb are you ready to move on to the next step. Sprinkle the flour over the onions, stir in and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Then add the wine and the stock, season with pepper to taste and simmer, partially covered, for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming off any impurities now and then (see photo below).

While the soup is cooking, pop the slices of baguette into the oven - gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C) should do the trick. When the soup is ready, ladle it into individual heatproof bowls, place the slices of baguette on top, cover with a deep sprinkling of Gruyére and then pop the bowls into the oven until the cheese is bubbling (see photos below). Serve immediately, but be careful... it's hot, hot, hot!

Bon appétit!

Mexican Cheese Enchiladas

 

After yesterday evening's excitement, we decided to have a go at another recipe straight away. As we didn't decide this until half past five in the afternoon and needed to make time to visit the supermarket to buy ingredients, anything involving soaking overnight or simmering for three hours was out of the question. We both love tomatoes, cheese and jalapeños. So, enter Mexican cheese enchiladas! This recipe is simple pimple and isn't too heavy (the mushroom risotto is still weighing me down a bit).

Although the recipe was originally based on Delia Smith's one in Delia's Vegetarian Collection, I've fiddled with it quite a bit. According to Delia, using the quantities listed below makes a dish that serves two as a main course, or four as a starter. Delia must have giants for dinner. There were two of us, one of whom was ravenous (yes, Ryoma), and we still ended up with one enchilada left over.

 

Ingredients:

400 g tinned chopped tomatoes

100 g tinned kidney beans

40 g Old El Paso sliced red jalapeños

40 g Old El Paso sliced green jalapeños

1 medium red onion - finely chopped

2 tomatoes - sliced

4 large flour tortillas

4 oz (110 g) Wensleydale cheese - grated

6 oz (175 g) mozzarella - grated

7 fl oz (200 ml) half-fat crème fraîche 

2 heaped tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves

juice of 1 lime

freshly ground black pepper  

Cooking Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).

Start off by making the salsa. Put the tinned tomatoes into a sieve and allow the excess liquid to drain away. Rinse the jalapeño peppers, chop them finely and place them into a bowl. Add the chopped coriander leaves, strained tomatoes, lime juice and half of the chopped onion, then add the ground black pepper and mix everything up well.

Put the Wensleydale and mozarella into a bowl and mix together. Place a frying pan on a high heat and, once it's hot, dry fry each tortilla for 6 seconds on each side. Place one of the tortillas onto a flat surface and spread 2 tablespoons of salsa over it, avoiding spreading it all the way to the edges. Sprinkle one quarter of the kidney beans onto the salsa. Sprinkle 2 heaped tablespoons of the cheese over the salsa and kidney beans, then a tablespoon of the crème fraîche. Roll the tortilla up, sealed side down, and place it into a lightly oiled 9 inch (23 cm) oven-proof square dish (approx. 2 inches, or 5cm, deep), or approximate equivalent. Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas. Once all of the tortillas are in the dish, spread the remaining crème fraîche over them. Sprinkle over the remainder of the salsa, the cheese and the chopped onion, then add the tomato slices.

Place the dish on a high shelf in the oven for 30-35 minutes. The above photo shows the enchiladas just prior to going into the oven. Once cooked (see photo below), serve immediately. We chose to serve these with a simple green leaf and tomato salad and they were incredibly tasty and filling whilst at the same time being wonderfully light.

Bon appétit!