Like summer, the Beer and Food Social is coming to an end. What better way to celebrate, than with a big bowl of warm soup?
Today’s recipe is from Lindsay at Love Beer, Love Food. Her site is full of recipes, beer education, pairings, and information about homebrewing.
So, join me as we get to know more about Lindsay and this delicious looking soup!
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Porter Onion Soup with Gruyere Crostini
Hey there! I’m Lindsay, writer and creator of Love Beer, Love Food and I’m thrilled to be joining the #beersocial fun with Sloane here at Life Food and Beer.
As my blog name implies, I am a serious beer and food lover, like, nerd-tastic. Therefore, I obviously believe that beer and food are great when consumed together. However, when you can take a step further, and incorporate beer into a dish? It adds a whole different flavor dimension. Enter Porter Onion Soup.
A couple weeks back I began to have an inexplicable craving for French onion soup. I’m more of a salty tooth girl, so all that delicious broth, onions, and melty cheese has been calling my name. It wasn’t until the slow creep of colder nights in the past week or so that I decided I just HAD to give in to my craving.
I changed up the traditional onion soup recipe by adding an entire bottle of beer, in this case Revolution’s Eugene Porter. That bit of malt sweetness and roastiness in the beer really rounds out the savory onions and salty broth.
Two things are critical with this recipe.
First, if you can, use home made stock for the soup. I try and always have some on hand in my freezer for these crazy non-seasonal soup cravings that pop up. When possible, I’ll purchase whole chickens when I need breasts or some other cut of chicken because it’s cheaper than buying it pre-butchered. I store the bones in the freezer and make simple stocks when I’ve stored up a big ol’ bag’s worth. Usually I’ll simply simmer the bones in water, uncovered, for about 3-4 hours. You can add carrots, celery, and other aromatics if you want, but I stick to simple. Once the stock tastes full flavored, I let cool slightly and pour into containers to chill over night. I then scrape off the fat on the top the next day and use right away or freeze.
Second, take your time caramelizing the onions. It will seriously take up to 45 minutes to get that rich, sweet, dark and sultry caramelized oniony goodness. Slicing the onions as thinly as possible will help speed things up a bit.
It’s a bit of a labor of love, but I know you’ll enjoy this delicious, beerrific soup.
Porter Onion Soup with Gruyere Crostini
By Lindsay from Love Beer, Love Food
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1.5 quarts homemade chicken stock
- 5 medium-large sized yellow onions, sliced as thin as possible
- 2 tbsp butter
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 bottle porter, such as Revolution’s Eugene Porter
- Salt/Pepper to taste
- 1 crusty baguette
- 1 wedge gruyere cheese
Directions:
Using a large Dutch oven or soup pot, begin to caramelize your onions by adding butter, onions, and a bit of salt to your pot on medium-low/low heat. Stir every few minutes, until the onions start to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan. When this happens, it’s time to start adding some beer. Add enough to de-glaze the onions - stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Add your thyme and bay leaf. When the onions start to stick again, add more beer and repeat until all the beer is gone. The onions should be dark, rick and caramelized throughout by the end. Add your stock and season to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes to bring all the flavors together. You may want to add some water if the stock is very rich. Cut half inch thick pieces of baguette and toast with slices of cheese on top. Add the cheesy crostini atop your bowl of soup and voila!
This is gonna be something I make for the mountain property during the winter. Nothing like smelling onions cooking any way. Love you, mom