Sunday, April 1, 2012

ALMOND AND ONION SOUP

A-Z Soup

Soup and bread go way back. A well baked loaf and a well made soup are a transcendent combination. Through the years soup has become a classic, delicious and nutritious first course.

The first Spanish language cookbook was written in the sixteenth century by Ruperto de Nola,  a chef to the Spanish ruler of Naples, King Hernando,  In it he included a soup recipe calling for almonds and onions.

Almost 500 years later and almond and onion soup is still popular all over Spain, often served as a first course at the afternoon meal.

The technique used in this soup may remind you of  French Onion Soup but the difference is that here the onions are not browned and a lot of almonds are used.  It makes for a spectacular tasting soup that you are sure to enjoy.

Almond and Onion Soup                                    Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 large onions, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly

6 cups of chicken stock or broth, reserve ½ cup for the almond grind
1 cup of white wine
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of parsley
salt and white pepper to taste

2 ounces of blanched almonds (is about 40 almonds)
The reserved ½ cup of broth

¼ teaspoon of cumin
6 slices of crusty bread, such as a baguette, sliced ¼ inch thick
Butter for the sliced bread
6 slices of Gruyere cheese, sliced 1/8 inch thick OR:
  ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup of sliced almonds, toasted, for garnish

Method

  • In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil

  • Fry the onion slices over low to medium heat until softened but not browned

  • Add the chicken stock or broth , wine, bay leaf, parsley and salt and pepper

  • Bring the mixture to boiling, lower the flame and simmer, covered for ½ hour

  • While the soup is simmering, grind the almonds in a food processor or blender until they are ground finely

  • Add ½ cup of stock and the cumin to the almonds and process or blend until the liquid is milky

  • Strain through a fine sieve

  • Pour the almond mixture into the simmering soup

  • Simmer the soup an additional 30 minutes for a total of one hour

  • Toast the bread slices and then lightly butter both sides. The buttering/toasting process is important so that the slices do not absorb the soup and get soggy

  • Remove the bay leaf and parsley from the soup

  • Put all the individual ovenproof  bowls on an ovenproof tray

  • Ladle the hot soup into bowls

  • Fill to the rim and place a slice of toast over the top

  • Place the cheese slices over the toasts to cover and seal the top

  • Place the ovenproof  tray under the broiler, about 6 inches from the heat

  • After about 4-5 minutes, the cheese will melt and turn golden

Serve as soon as it comes out of broiler with a sprinkling of the sliced toasted almonds. More slices of the baguette would be good to accompany this soup.

Almonds are a wonderdul food,the most nutritious of all nuts. In a nutshell, almonds are very rich in fibre, vitamin E, niacin, biotin, riboflavin, and the minerals zinc, selenium, copper, potassium, phosphorus and iron.

Almonds are good groceries for you and this soup is a perfect showcase for them. Enjoy.

23 comments:

Eat To Live said...

This soup sounds very interesting and very good.

Who would of thought to add almonds.

You come up with the best recipes. Not that I can eat them all, but my Hubs sure can.

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Oh, wow, this is a new one for me! But any soup topped with cheesy bread is worth a try :)

Priya Sreeram said...

nice combo; worth a try ! looks hearty

Misha Gerrick said...

Ooh yet another divine looking dish from you. One day I'm going to go all Julie/Julia and go through your recipes one by one. ;-)

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

Anthony this is a delicious recipe! I've never made an onion and almond soup but that is surely going to change soon. It sounds utterly delicious! Thanks for the recipe for a new and different soup - and how did you know that my hubby has been asking for an onion soup??? I can't wait to make this version for him (and myself!!)!

Anonymous said...

I would have never thought of putting almonds and onions together in a soup. How interesting.

Susanne
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER

schmetterlingwords said...

Woww!!! Amazing soup... Sure to try this out sometime soon, though without the wine ;)

Thanks for sharing...

Ongoing Event: Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy

Pat Hatt said...

Never heard of Almond and Onion soup, looks like quite the dish.

the Junkie book said...

If I don't try out this soup some day some time, woe to me...

I read thru the recipe....sure it'll be a tantalizing bowl!

Susan Oloier said...

Soup and bread together is one of my favorite meals. My family is never receptive to it, though. Apparently, I'm the only soup lover in my house. But I am going to try this one. It sounds incredible.

Unknown said...

Onions and almonds in a soup are a new combination for me ..but I would think this is a better version of the French onion soup!!

anthony stemke said...

MY JOURNEY WITH CANDIDA: It must be tough cooking different meals for each other. Maybe I can think up an alkaline meal for the whole family. Regards.

LIZZY: Yeah you are right and this soup with cheese is really great.

PRIYA SREERAM: Definately worth a try, Thanks.

MISHA GERICKE: Ok, you be Julia. You are going to get that stage part, so make a big pot of this for the cast and crew. And break a leg will ya?

ANDREA THE KITCHEN WITCH: I know your spouse knows his onions, make him this soup, you both will be nuts about it. cm

SUSANNE DRAZIC: If you can put words on paper you can put onions and almonds in soup, and I hope you will. And thanks for your hospitality to my spouse Kathy.

SCHMETTERLING WORDS: Even without the alcohol this soup would be wonderful, please enjoy. And happy to hear from you again.

PAT HATT: Almond and onion soup is quite the dish, though containing neither fowl nor fish.

THE JUNKIE BOOK: This is a lovely soup for sure. Thank You.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I've just recently got my hubby to like onions. Making an onion soup might be pushing it... but it does look and sound yum!

Golden Eagle said...

Almonds are one of my favorite types of nut!


The Golden Eagle
The Eagle's Aerial Perspective

anthony stemke said...

SUSAN OLOIER: Some people just don't care for soup, probably resulting from canned,condensed soups in youth. Therefore I try to interest people with soups like this. Before the end of the month, I hope you can interest your family in one of these a-z soups.
My best to Zane.

MALLI: I really like French onion soup too but this is lesser known soup and is also quite good. Thanks for calling.

LYNDA R YOUNG: With onions, starting easy is good idea. I believe the almond onion combination might turn out to really impress him. Try not serving him any and then asking him to taste a spoonful of yours.

THE GOLDEN EAGLE: From my perspective, which is down to earth, you have good tste in nuts. Thanks for calling.

Elizabeth said...

Sounds Delicious. :)

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

I love soup but have never tried almond soup! Good start to the challenge my friend!

This is me, Duncan D. Horne, visiting you from the A-Z challenge, wishing you all the best throughout April and beyond.

Duncan In Kuantan

Nate Wilson said...

Damn it, that sounds absolutely delicious, but alas, I find myself completely out of Gruyere. Also, it's nearly midnight and I might be out of crusty bread, too. Tell you what: I'll start tonight with just the wine, and add the rest of the ingredients tomorrow.

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said...

15th century! wow.. i love how informative ur posts are :) the soup looks delecious

Stephanie said...

This sounds REALLY tasty!! What a great A-Z theme!! I will definitely be stopping back!! :)

Prema said...

This is my first visit on ur space,love to follow u...very nice recipe...

Do visit mine if time permits...

www.premascook.com

Anonymous said...

This sounds great! I find the biggest problem with almonds to be to try to impart their flavor on other things on account of their subtlety. But this sound as if it could work. It goes on my to do list.

Alex

anthony stemke said...

ELIZABETH SHERYL: Thank You, it definately is delicious.

DUNCAN D HORNE: Yor are a genius with those letters, so therefore are entitled to a bowl of this fine soup. I wish you (and your family) were here, I'd love to serve you some.
Take care.

NATE WILSON: That's ok Nate, start with the wine in a pot, just don't drink it. Don't they have any all-night grocery stores up there? I guess not.
I never knew till about 15 years ago that some unique, famous cigar wrapper tobacco was grown in the Conn valley.

DEEPS @ NAUGHTY CURRY: Thank You so much for your lovely compliment. The soup is delicious, even without the wine.

STEPHANIE: You are most welcome anytime. Second daughters name is Stephanie.

PREMALATHA ARAVINDHAN: Thank You for calling, hope you like what you see.

HEATNEAT: Yes almonds are a subtle taste, but they go well in this soup and doubly as thickener.
If you wanted to enhance the almond flavour somewhere else, gently roast the almonds beforehand.
Thanks for calling Alexis.

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