httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Moaijb4p-g
Well, trying to stay on track and releasing an episode on a weekly basis (typically Wednesdays) was foiled this week – seeing as I do have a day job which involves travel, mostly out of the country. Hence the lateness of this post.
As you may have noticed, I have been cleaning out my cupboards of sauces that I had gathered over a period of time. Well, those days are now gone (at least for a while). So, our next adventure in cooking involved a recipe book, as I wanted to learn how to make great tasting dishes that could be accomplished within a reasonable period of time (albeit cut down to 10 minutes for the sake of YouTube). In my shopping travels, I happened upon a book that had caught my eye and whose authors were familiar to me (they write in Menshealth magazine – one of my faves). The book, called Cook This, Not That!: Kitchen Survival Guide
In this episode, we tried their version of French Onion Soup using an organic beef broth that had the lowest amount of salt I could find. I also substituted garlic Melba toast rounds – a recommendation from a friend of mine (they really worked well and were lower in calories than the original ingredient). Oh – we did notice that ep 5 had sound issues. I will reexamine it and see if I can improve it. [Ya, I admit to being an amateur, but learning from mistakes is just part of this adventure. =;) ]
Please note: We try and review the recipes in the cookbook; however, in an effort to respect copyright, we are not able to reproduce the actual printed recipes here. If you do have the book, please follow along with us!
Enjoy! B&H =:)
Recipe: Cook This Not That – French Onion Soup
Notes from the Chef’s Sidekick (Helenka)
The intent of the cookbook’s authors is to provide flavourful, less gasp-inducing versions of high-calorie, high-fat and/or high-sodium recipes. [BTW, we’re planning to cook a whole bunch of dishes from this source.] This was the healthier version of a traditional French onion soup. Normally, the traditional version would use tons of butter to saute the sliced onions. The revised version used much less butter to cook the onions, with the lid being added as an assist in providing more moisture through condensation. Brian used approximately half red and half yellow onions as well as organic beef broth (and more of it, too). More red wine as well. I think we’re going to have a lot of soup. [No kidding!] Herbs used for enhancing the flavour were bay leaves and sprigs of fresh thyme. Where the recipe called for salt, Brian reached into his salt chest and (at my direction) pulled out the most expensive salt: Fumee de Sel, cold smoked in oak wine barrels used to age fine Chardonnay wine. Well, it was the obvious choice to use a French salt for a French soup. When we sniffed it, we really got an intense smoked aroma. After the soup was fully cooked, he ladled it out into soup bowls, gently placing four garlic melba rounds on top of each (instead of the traditional baguette slices) and sprinkling them with aged cheddar cheese (instead of grated swiss). Verdict: a flavourful soup with loads of healthy onions. The pieces of melba had puffed up under the broiler and mixed with the cheese splendidly. Which just goes to prove that you don’t need to dig through a mountain of cheese with fork and shears to enjoy a proper onion soup. I kept getting a hint/aftertaste of caraway, even though it was not listed in the ingredients column on the box of melba rounds. Fascinating. Perhaps it was a chemical reaction to broiling the sesame seeds that were listed. I also enjoyed the leftover soup a few days later with my neighbour, heating it up in a 325 degree oven before adding the melba rounds and aged cheddar and sliding under the broiler.
Variations
In retrospect, we felt that the cookbook’s authors didn’t quite get it right with this one as far as flavour is concerned because fat and salt are huge flavour carriers. If you reduce them substantially, you MUST replace the flavour with another ingredient (hint: herbs and spices). We thought that garlic would have made an excellent integral ingredient (and that was just from including the garlic melba rounds). And I’m voting for more fresh thyme.
Cooking time (duration): 60
Diet (other): Low calorie, Reduced fat
Meal type: dinner
Culinary tradition: French
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