Creole Onion Soup

Cold weather in the South is particularly nasty, because it isn’t that common. Today will be around freezing, which is just the excuse needed to make our favorite winter meal–Creole Onion Soup. Every cook has their own version, but my wife Melanie Jane has condescended to share her’s, which is pictured above. She also provided the photos.

Creole Onion Soup

Three or Four Onions, sliced thinly

Three Tablespoons Butter

Three Tablespoons Flour

Four Cups Poultry Stock (Chicken, Duck, or Turkey)

Thyme, Oregano, and Basil

Soy Sauce

Worcestershire Sauce

Tabasco Sauce to Taste

Creole French Bread

Grated Cheese–Swiss, Cheddar, or Parmesan, or some combination thereof

Porcelain lined cast iron makes the best soup pot, and the best are still made in France. This one is six quarts. At any rate, slowly cook the sliced onions in the butter. This should be the result:

Remove the cooked onions and add the flour. It’s roux time! This time stir until there is a “blonde” roux. It should look like this:

More butter can be added to achieve the desired consistency. Now it’s time to make soup. Add the stock, cooked onions, soy and worcestershire sauces, and herbs. Simmer for thirty minutes and add the Tabasco, which makes this really Creole, along with the next addition.

Now it’s time to serve. Use a good heat-resistant soup bowl (that’s a handmade Jerry Brown bowl in the picture at the beginning). Top with slices of Creole French Bread, for which I will have to supply a recipe in the future, but it’s really just French Bread with olive oil (or some other fat) added to the dough. Top that with the grated cheese of your choice, and throw under a broiler. When the cheese begins to toast, it’s time to burn your tongue on some smoking hot soup.

Melanie Jane’s hair is about the color of that roux, and she responded to a blonde joke from some fool once by saying, “I guess you graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the best History department in the country, like I did.” Her best put down was of an obnoxious college Dean at a party, who asked her how he looked in his Trucker’s cap. Her response was, “You look like a pig farmer.” Good times and hot soup!