Cooking for People Unsure of what a Stove Does: Recipe 3 - Carmelized Onion Soup

I've got it! Its a record player!

     It's about that time of the week again!  This time, its onion soup on the menu.  As a fair warning, this particular recipe is far more time intensive than either of the first two I have posted, ringing in at about an hour of cooking time from start to finish, but its worth it in the end!

(Vegetarian) Carmelized Onion Soup:

Ingredients:

• Onions (the type doesn't make a great deal of difference, but use more than you think, as they shrink!)
• Sugar
• Vegetable stock or bullion
• 4 cups of water
• Vegetable oil or butter
• Bread (optional, though highly recommended)

Do it quick before you start to tear up!

     The first order of business is to slice all of your onions into thin rings, about a millimeter thick (it helps if you can find onions on the narrower side).  These will shrink down enormously, so cut more than you actually think that you will need.

This is a recurring theme on here, isn't it?

     Pour some oil into your pan, coating the bottom.  You should go easy on it at first, as the onions will release water as they cook.
     Turn the stove onto medium heat.

Just a tad too many?

     When the put has warmed up, add in your onions, and stir them, in order to very lightly coat them all.  If they can't be all covered from the oil you added before, add a tiny bit more, and try again.

And the shrinking begins!

     Cook the onions until they soften, and become translucent.  Then, add in some of the sugar (I used approximately 2-3 tablespoons, although you can use less if you either have fewer onions or cook them longer on lower heat).  Stir it through, and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Not very pretty on camera...

     The process of caramelizing onions takes between 30 minutes and a full hour to do it right.  Shown on the right is a picture of the half-way point.

Where did they all go?

     When the onions change from yellow to brown, make sure to keep stirring them to prevent them from sticking to the pan and burning, which is more likely towards the end, as most of the water has been cooked out of the onions at this point.

It tastes better than it looks!

     Once the onions are browned and ready, add in your vegetable bullion and water, or your vegetable stock.  Bring it to a boil, and then lower the heat down a notch.  Let the soup cook for 10-15 minutes, to allow some water to boil off, and for the flavors to mix.

I even used the real bowl this time!

     Finally, pour the soup into your bowl of choice, break out the bread, and enjoy!  You can place cheese over the top of the hot soup and let it melt over it if you want to go the more traditional onion soup route, but its good all by itself as well.  Guten Appetit!

For your Amusement:

In case you forgot what sugar looks like.
And the picture was already taken.  But mostly the first part.

Proverb of the Day:

Friedrich and his friends shared a Cheez-It today.

They had to run away before the pigeon tried to steal it.

*Source links for stock images are provided.

**The background music is from a personal music project in progress.