Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil from Rallis Olive Oil or Ontario Natural Food Co-op
1 generous pound of tropea onions from Persephone Market Garden
A pinch of chili flakes
A scant ½ pound of a starchy potato from Twin Creeks Farm, Cirrus Hill Farm, Stewarts Produce, Bruce Huron Produce Auction, Sideroad Farm or Burdock Grove
2 ½ – 3 cups of water
Salt & pepper
Hearty bread for serving – check out Aster Lane, Thornbury Bakery, Rising Sun Bakery
Pecorino cheese (optional)
This soup is so savoury and so comforting – it’s a delicious, warming dish, great for serving on a cool fall evening. An Italian recipe, this soup is similar to the familiar French onion soup, but the addition of grated potatoes in the broth makes it more hearty and more filling.
The Tropea onions make this soup less punchy than your typical onion soup, lending a sweeter, more delicate flavour. If you like, you can use another onion variety but be prepared for it to taste more “onion-y” and less smooth.
Toast up a hunk of hearty bread, pop it right into the bowl, on top of the soup and grate pecorino or parmesan over top. Leave out the cheese to make this a vegan meal.
Serve with a nice fall salad on the side – think brussels sprout slaw with roasted squash, sweet apples and creamy dressing.
Serves 4 or 2 with leftovers.
Procedure
Slice your onions and grate your potatoes – I just used a regular cheese grater for this.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions, pinch of chili flakes and a bit of salt. Stir occasionally, allowing the onions to brown, making sure they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot too much. This step takes about 15 minutes or so, but it’s worth the wait to get a little caramelization!
At this point, add your grated potato to the pot with the onions. Stir everything together and cook for just a couple of minutes, then pour in the water. Stir and scrape the bottom to release all that tasty caramelization and incorporate it into the broth.
Simmer your soup for 30 minutes, allowing the potato to cook down and release the starches, thickening the soup. Check on it frequently – about part way through the simmering, I noticed a lot of the water had evaporated and added a little more to make it more soup-y.
Once all the way cooked, let cool slightly and then ladle into deep bowls. Toast up a nice slice of hearty bread, place it in your bowl of soup and sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Eat & enjoy!
Check out our many awesome producers here and let us know if you try it out!