Hey Jane, good question. I think vegetable would be best. If you are using store-bought, I would do half vegetable stock and half water, which would also be my recommendation if you use store-bought chicken stock. The onions are where most of the flavor is coming from so substitutions like this won’t be a problem.
Hello.
Writing from far away, from Paris, neighbourhood close to the bio-market at blvd Raspail and two guys selling potatoes pancakes with cheese!. It is a pity that you do not write more often, as I like what you do.
As regards fried sage, I am not a great fun of it, as it becomes a bit bitter for me. Otherwise, the soup is great.
Can you really feel the taste of the Sherry vinegar in the soup?
Sorry for mistakes, I am not a native speaker nor a translator :)
Hello Magdalena! I know that market and those potato pancakes well, they are amazing. The sherry vinegar adds a nice brightness to the soup and complements the sweet caramel flavor of the onions. Thanks for writing!
Tim, I know that you know, because I saw your pictures from visit in Paris, as I read this blog since a quite long time, but I didn’t dear to put my own comment. Have a nice day!
I’m wondering if a dollop of creme fraiche would be nice as well, sans the other toppings (except for the crutons—I love crutons), if one were to stray form the recipe a second go round.
Yes! Maybe! Worth a try for sure, not sure it the creaminess of the soup needs more creaminess but in terms of flavor it might be nice. I would still do a shot of sherry vinegar. Will try next time. (which will likely be this weekend)
The most mouth-watering recipe I’ve seen today. And I’ve seen a lot. Dammit, Tim! How am I supposed to make it through the afternoon with this soup drifting around my head? ;)
I don’t know what I like more: this recipe, or the photos of your reflection hiding in the spoon. xo
As a loyal reader of yours I get such joy out of seeing the things we have in common! I actually made that whole menu having just received my Farm Fresh to You box of organic produce so I could use lemons, kale, onions, potatoes, and chard. The soup was so flipping good we were all so surprised. It was the hit of the menu. We decided what made it so good was using chicken stock rather than beef (a first for me with onion soup-why such a revation? Who knows.) and blending the soup. And I, for one, can’t skip that brown butter. I’d make it if I were standing alone in my kitchen eating the soup from a cup. :-)
Seeing as how there are few things in life better than caramelized onions, I am going to have to try this. This way maybe I can get a little glimpse of your delicious experience in France.
i saw this too and it sounded awesome. just wasn’t in the mood to tote home all those onions, let alone thinly slice all of them, but now i’m a little more tempted :)
Hey Erin! Great minds cook alike…or something? You are very ambitious to have cooked that whole meal, I can’t imagine. Glad to hear you liked the soup too.
It’s interesting to me that you needed more time to caramelize the onions. I find that that’s ALWAYS a problem for me, even when I’m using a highly-tested recipe like something from Cook’s Illustrated. It always makes me avoid ’em.
onion soup is such a wonderful pleasure! i confess i wish you remembered the name of that restaurant….i am heading to italy for 5 weeks in late spring and plan on eating my way through the country. maybe i’ll get lucky enough to stumble upon it!
We have a product in Australia called Massel stock cubes. They are a non animal derived Chicken/Beef & Vegetable (duh!) stock cube. They are fantasic I have used them since I worked in a Vego Cafe in the 90’s and they would be perfect for this and any other soup/stew
Tim -So glad to see that you liked our recipe! We added a link to your post from the recipe on our site so that our readers can see your version and your insights. Hope that’s ok with you. Thanks again! -Emily, BA Web Editor
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Jane Flanagan says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Do you have a recommendation for a non-meat stock? Would mushroom be better than just straight vegetable?
Tim says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Hey Jane, good question. I think vegetable would be best. If you are using store-bought, I would do half vegetable stock and half water, which would also be my recommendation if you use store-bought chicken stock. The onions are where most of the flavor is coming from so substitutions like this won’t be a problem.
Maninas says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Great soup! will def try it
Magdalena says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Hello.
Writing from far away, from Paris, neighbourhood close to the bio-market at blvd Raspail and two guys selling potatoes pancakes with cheese!. It is a pity that you do not write more often, as I like what you do.
As regards fried sage, I am not a great fun of it, as it becomes a bit bitter for me. Otherwise, the soup is great.
Can you really feel the taste of the Sherry vinegar in the soup?
Sorry for mistakes, I am not a native speaker nor a translator :)
Tim says:
March 10th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Hello Magdalena! I know that market and those potato pancakes well, they are amazing. The sherry vinegar adds a nice brightness to the soup and complements the sweet caramel flavor of the onions. Thanks for writing!
Magdalena says:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Tim, I know that you know, because I saw your pictures from visit in Paris, as I read this blog since a quite long time, but I didn’t dear to put my own comment. Have a nice day!
radish says:
March 10th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
i bookmarked that soup to make in the next week or so… i cannot wait! looks amazing!
Tracy (Amuse-bouche for Two) says:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
I’m wondering if a dollop of creme fraiche would be nice as well, sans the other toppings (except for the crutons—I love crutons), if one were to stray form the recipe a second go round.
Tim says:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Yes! Maybe! Worth a try for sure, not sure it the creaminess of the soup needs more creaminess but in terms of flavor it might be nice. I would still do a shot of sherry vinegar. Will try next time. (which will likely be this weekend)
Dawn (KitchenTravels) says:
March 10th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
The most mouth-watering recipe I’ve seen today. And I’ve seen a lot. Dammit, Tim! How am I supposed to make it through the afternoon with this soup drifting around my head? ;)
I don’t know what I like more: this recipe, or the photos of your reflection hiding in the spoon. xo
Erin in Sacramento says:
March 10th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
As a loyal reader of yours I get such joy out of seeing the things we have in common! I actually made that whole menu having just received my Farm Fresh to You box of organic produce so I could use lemons, kale, onions, potatoes, and chard. The soup was so flipping good we were all so surprised. It was the hit of the menu. We decided what made it so good was using chicken stock rather than beef (a first for me with onion soup-why such a revation? Who knows.) and blending the soup. And I, for one, can’t skip that brown butter. I’d make it if I were standing alone in my kitchen eating the soup from a cup. :-)
Jennifer says:
March 10th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
This recipe is on my list for the week. I am even more excited to try it now after your review.
Thanks!
Joanne says:
March 10th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Seeing as how there are few things in life better than caramelized onions, I am going to have to try this. This way maybe I can get a little glimpse of your delicious experience in France.
Heather @ chik n' pastry says:
March 10th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
i saw this too and it sounded awesome. just wasn’t in the mood to tote home all those onions, let alone thinly slice all of them, but now i’m a little more tempted :)
Tim says:
March 10th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Hey Erin! Great minds cook alike…or something? You are very ambitious to have cooked that whole meal, I can’t imagine. Glad to hear you liked the soup too.
Brian W says:
March 11th, 2010 at 11:35 am
It’s interesting to me that you needed more time to caramelize the onions. I find that that’s ALWAYS a problem for me, even when I’m using a highly-tested recipe like something from Cook’s Illustrated. It always makes me avoid ’em.
Sarah says:
March 11th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
onion soup is such a wonderful pleasure! i confess i wish you remembered the name of that restaurant….i am heading to italy for 5 weeks in late spring and plan on eating my way through the country. maybe i’ll get lucky enough to stumble upon it!
Rebecca says:
March 12th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Yum! What a unique onion soup…blended! And with the most simple ingredients that are always on hand! Thanks!
Aussiechick says:
March 15th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
We have a product in Australia called Massel stock cubes. They are a non animal derived Chicken/Beef & Vegetable (duh!) stock cube. They are fantasic I have used them since I worked in a Vego Cafe in the 90’s and they would be perfect for this and any other soup/stew
Emily Fleischaker says:
March 17th, 2010 at 7:39 am
Tim -So glad to see that you liked our recipe! We added a link to your post from the recipe on our site so that our readers can see your version and your insights. Hope that’s ok with you. Thanks again! -Emily, BA Web Editor
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/03/onion_soup_with_sage_brown_butter_croutons_and_grated_lemon_peel