Week 37: Onion Soup

Be warned. This recipe takes FOREVER. It's a food of love thing. Worth it though.

The Recipe
1.5 tbsp butter
0.5 tbsp olive oil
About 350g thinly sliced yellow onions (that's about 3-4 decent sized)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1.5 tbsp flour
1 liter beef stock
1/2 c red or white wine (optional)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp sage (optional)
Salt & pepper

Melt the butter with the oil in your casserole oven and add the sliced onions. Stir the onions to coat with butter. Cover the pan and cook over med. high heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and translucent. Then, uncover the pan, raise the heat closer to high, and stir in the salt and sugar. The sugar helps the onions to caramalize. Cook about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are deep golden brown. Watch out that they don't get too dark brown/black though - burnt onion isn't nice. Don't worry about the brown gunk building up on the bottom of the pan; it's called fond and it adds serious flavor to the soup. Heat up the bouillon in a separate pan.

Lower the head to medium/moderate and add the flour. Stir in the flour well. Add a bit more butter if the flour isn't all absorbed into a paste with the onions. Cook slowly, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, to brown the flour. Remove from heat and pour about a cup of hot broth in and stir the heck out of it with a whisk, to blend the flour and broth together (you'll also scrape that marvelous fond off the bottom of the pan).

Put back on heat. Add the rest of the bouillon, the wine, bay, and sage, and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer slowly for 30 to 40 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper.

The fancy way it's served in restaurants is to put a crusty slice of french bread in the bottom of a soup bowl or crock, cover with soup, then with slices of mozzarella cheese. Broil it for just long enough to melt and brown the cheese.

The Verdict
I wasn't completely sure about this recipe as I already have a very delicious and MUCH easier/quicker recipe for an onion soup that I'm absolutely crazy about. I was intrigued by the "love of food" thing though. I cut the recipe in half, and it was perfect for one, however I do think I ought to have adjusted some of the cooking times as well - I only left the onions to caramelize for 15-20 minutes, and they were almost turning black! I may not have been stirring often enough though, so that might have something to do with it as well.

Despite taking forever, the recipe is really easy and worth the effort. I'd say it's as good as my other recipe, but tastes more "high cuisine" somehow (the other is pretty much just onions with bouillon). I'll be making this again, but will be careful with ventilation next time - the entire flat smells like cooked onions now!

Week 36: Steaks with Red Wine Sauce

The Recipe
2 steaks
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
3/4 cup beef broth
1/2 tsp thyme

Cook steaks until done. Remove and keep warm.
Add oil to pan. Add onion and garlic and stir for a couple of minutes picking up the brown steak bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it soften and brown. Add tomato paste, broth, wine and thyme. Whisk and reduce for 5 minutes. Return steaks, turning over to coat.

The Verdict
Well, steaks are always good, but I have to admit I prefer Bearnaise sauce to red wine sauce. Probably not something I can be bothered making again.

Week 35: Asian Fish

The Recipe
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 clove garlic, pressed
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh gingerroot
2 firm-fleshed fish fillets (I used salmon)
Chili flakes (optional)

Combine all ingredients, except fish, in a bowl. Add fish and leave in the fridge to marinate for about 1 hour. Transfer to ovenproof dish and cook at 200* for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Serve with brown rice.

The Verdict
I think I'll use more honey next time and possibly cook on a pan rather than in the oven next time, because most of the marinade ended up burned and stuck to the ovenproof dish. The fish itself was nice though, although I have other recipes involving salmon and honey that I like more.

Week 34: Spicy Bean Soup

The Recipe
2 good pork sausages
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
Chilli according to taste
1 can (400g) stewed tomatoes
1 can (400g) beans - rinsed and drained
3.75dl stock
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, oregano, basil

Heat the oil in a pot, quickly brown the sausages on all sides and remove. Add chilli, chopped garlic and onion and cook for a couple of minutes. Cut the sausages into bite-sized pieces and add to the pot. Stir quickly and then add tomatoes and stock. Bring to boil and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Add beans and leave to simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and basil.

The Verdict
DH wasn't at home, so I could make this as spicy as I wanted - and so I did, and it was good :-D The recipe said to blend the tomatoes and the beans, and I think I may do that next time for a creamier soup, but even as it was, it was really, really good. Perfect for a day like today when I was stuck at home with a bad cold.

Week 33: Pasta Gratin

The Recipe
250g pasta
250g mushroom
1 bell pepper
6 medium carrots
2 leeks
1 small squash
175g ham
1 can stewed tomatoes (~400g)
100g mozzarella
4 cloves of garlic

Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Meanwhile chop the garlic and cut everything else into bite-sized pieces. In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and cook the garlic and the mushrooms for a couple of minutes. Transfer to ovenproof dish. In the same skillet, saute ham, bell pepper, squash, carrots and leeks for 5-7 minutes. Transfer to ovenproof dish. Mix the vegetables and ham with pasta, stewed tomatoes and cheese. Bake at 200C for 20 minutes.

The Verdict
I need to add more salt next time, as I forgot that this time round, but otherwise really delicious!! I used tomatoes with chilli which was a tad too spicy for DH and perfect for me! Next time I'll probably use 'plain' tomatoes and then add some jalapenos to my portion afterwards. Definitely something I'll be making again sometime.

Week 32: Crisp Tortillas Towers

Hmmm... I seem to have misplaced the recipe for this, but since it definitely wasn't worth a repeat, that doesn't matter too much, I'll just type it up from memory.

The Recipe
Cut two tortillas into quarters. Melt butter in a pan and cook them until they're crisp.
Halve two tomatoes and scoop out the seeds, chop the tomatoes and half a red chilli (deseeded and deribbed) and cook them for 3 minutes. Add 1/2lb shrimp and cook for another couple of minutes. Add two handfuls of baby spinach leaves and 2 tablespoons of milk or cream and cook until the spinach has wilted.
Build 'towers' of alternating tortillas and tomato-spinach-shrimp mixture, starting and ending with tortillas.

The Verdict
Uhm, no. I'm not too fond of cooked shrimp as it is (although sometimes it works - check out the other shrimp recipe here), and this combination just didn't work. Also the tomato-spinach-shrimp mixture was too soggy - probably from the milk. Perhaps it would have been better if I'd used cream instead. The only good thing about this recipe were the crisp tortillas - they were very yummy! I may use those for inspiration some other time.

Week 31: Crock-Pot Chicken Curry

The Recipe
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, cubed
Water/oil mixture
2 chicken breast halves
1 small can coconut milk (about 1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 clove garlic, pressed
salt
black pepper
1 bell pepper
Raisins, flaked coconut and peanuts

Place potatoes and onion in a slow cooker. Heat oil mixture in a large skillet; add chicken and cook just until browned. Transfer to slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine coconut milk, curry powder, garlic, salt and pepper; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Serve chicken and sauce over cooked brown rice; sprinkle with sliced bell pepper. Garnish with raisins, coconut and peanuts, if desired.

The Verdict
It seems utterly impossible for me to cook anything in a crock-pot that doesn't come out dry and bland. This was no exception, but thankfully it was easily remedied. I cut the chicken up into small pieces and mixed with the sauce, and suddenly the dryness didn't really matter. It was still bland though, until I added extra curry sauce and mango chutney - one I added that, it was DELICIOUS! I'm going to try this recipe again, but next time I'm going to add more curry and perhaps also a bit of chili. And if anybody has any advice on how not to make the chicken so insanely dry, I'm all ears!