Tag: onion

Onion Soup

Creamy Onion Soup with Sage

This velvety, smooth and mild Onion Soup is the perfect autumn or winter comfort food. It is very different from a traditional French Onion Soup which consists of pieces of onion in a thin, strongly-flavoured broth. I add a gentle hint of sage to my soup which adds an extra dimension to the flavour.

The idea for this soup came to me when I was making an onion sauce. I made a white sauce, containing soft pieces of onion, to serve with some Chestnut and Mushroom Pies. It occurred to me that the mild-but-tasty sauce would make a brilliant soup. I thinned it out a bit and blended it smooth and found out that it did!

I now make this soup regularly. It is one of those brilliant, simple recipes where very basic ingredients produce something wonderful with very little effort.

What you need to know about this Onion Soup recipe

  • The key to this recipe is to cook the onions on a low heat for twenty minutes to ensure that they become soft and sweet. This process (step 2) is transformational and gives the finished soup a real depth of flavour and sweetness.
  • Try and use a good quality stock (step 4) as this will also make a big difference to the flavour. If you have home-made stock, so much the better. However, I generally use good quality vegetable bouillon powder.
  • My version of this soup is vegetarian. However, it is very easy to make the recipe vegan by using vegetable oil instead of butter (step 1) and by using a non-dairy milk (coconut milk or a nut milk such as almond or cashew) (step 6).
  • This soup can be made in advance and then reheated. It also freezes well and can be kept in the freezer for at least 6 months.

Other easy vegetarian soup recipes

I have lots of easy, vegetarian soup recipes. If you like this Onion Soup you might like some of the others. All my soups are vegetarian and all can be made vegan by substituting animal fats, such as butter, for vegetable fats. Some of them are pretty simple such as Leek and Potato Soup, Nettle Soup, Fennel Soup, Jerusalem Artichoke Soup  or Sweetcorn Chowder and showcase a single vegetable.

Others combine vegetables which have complimentary flavours such as Curried Parsnip and Apple Soup, Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato Soup, Celeriac and Apple Soup, Mushroom and Chestnut Soup, Pumpkin and Sweetcorn Soup or Leek and Potato Soup. A few have more unusual combinations of flavours such as Beetroot Soup with Coconut or Butternut and Peanut Butter Soup. I also have a few chilled soup recipes, which are fantastic cold in the summer, but can also be served warm such as Asparagus and Pea and Tomato.

Recipe for Creamy Onion Soup with Sage

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Onion Soup with Sage

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 6
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: English
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Description

This mild and velvety Onion Soup, gently flavoured with sage, is easy to make and is the perfect comfort food.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 75 g (3 oz) butter or oil
  • 5 large onions
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 50 g (2 oz) plain flour
  • 600 ml (1 pint) vegetable stock
  • 300 ml (Half a pint) of milk, vegetable stock or water

Instructions

  1. Heat the butter or oil in a heavy-based pan. 
  2. Peel and slice the onions.  Add to the pan with the sage, season with salt and pepper and cook slowly for twenty minutes until they are soft and sweet. 
  3. Add the flour and cook for a further two minutes. 
  4. Add the 500 ml of vegetable stock and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
  5. Blend the soup until smooth using a hand blender or food processor.
  6. Add up to 300 ml of milk, vegetable stock or water to thin the soup to your desired consistency. 

 

Keywords: soup, onion soup, onion, vegetarian

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Lost in Food and #FiestaFriday with Fiesta Friday and   Liz@Spades, Spatulas & Spoons 

Onion Tart

  • Onion Tart with Wild Garlic
  • Onion Tart with Wild Garlic
  • Onion Tart with Wild Garlic

Onion Tart with Wild Garlic and Herbs

This Onion Tart combines sweet, caramelised onions with a selection of herbs. I have used chives, parsley and wild garlic, which is in season in England in late spring and early summer. However, you can use any herbs that you like and which are available.

Onion and Wild Garlic Tart

What you need to know about this Onion Tart recipe

  • I generally make my own pastry. I was a late learner when it came to pastry and for years used ready-made versions. However, a few years ago I decided I had to get to grips with pastry-making and discovered how easy it is. If you have the time to make your own pastry, it is really worth doing as the taste will be much better than anything you can buy in the shops. However, if you don’t have the time or inclination, you can make this recipe using ready-made pastry and it will still taste pretty good.
  • Whether you are making your own pastry or using ready-made, it is really important to bake the empty pastry case in the oven for 20 minutes before you add the filling (step 7). This sets the pastry and means that it is properly cooked so it will be crisp and delicious rather than soft and soggy.
  • It also makes a huge difference to the taste of your tart if you make sure that the onions are soft and caramelised (step 5). Keep the burner as low as possible, stir occasionally and watch that they don’t burn. You want the end result to be very pale golden brown. Taste them to check and if you wish you can add a little brown sugar to sweeten them up a bit more.
  • You can use any combination of herbs in this recipe. However, soft herbs work better than woody herbs (such as rosemary). Also, you need to be aware that some herbs (such as mint) have particularly strong flavours and will overpower others. I used chives, parsley and wild garlic in roughly equal amounts for my recipe. I’ve listed a few other herbs and flavourings that I think go well in this tart but please feel free to experiment.
    • Tarragon – I would use it on its own and put less (between one and two tablespoons) in the tart as it has a strong flavour.
    • Sage – a classic partner for onion and again I would put less in the tart as has a strong flavour.
    • Thyme – one of my favourite herbs but it can be a bit fiddly getting all the little leaves off the woody stems. I would combine this with a few other herbs such as chives or parsley.
    • Garlic – if you are not using wild garlic, you can add a clove of garlic to the onions once they are caramelised and cook for one or two minutes (step 5).
Onion Tart with Wild Garlic
About Wild Garlic

When I lived in London, I ordered a weekly vegetable box which contained a selection of vegetables. I didn’t get to choose what was in the box – I was just given what was in season. Opening the box was a bit like a mini-birthday every week . Sometimes you opened it up and were delighted. Sometimes you opened it up and were a bit disappointed. There were definitely times when I thought that I had really eaten all the swedes that I ever wanted to eat.

One of the best extra things I got in the box was a big bunch of wild garlic. It seemed so fresh and exotic with its pretty white flowers. I wasn’t entirely sure whether I would cook with it or put it in a vase. I tried many times after that to get hold of it when I was in London but never succeeded. It was clearly a rare and special ingredient.

Later I moved to a rural part of Gloucestershire to a house situated by a small wood. In early May, the first year I lived there, I started to get garlicky wafts of scent whenever I went in the garden. Slightly puzzled, I went for a walk in the wood and found that it was covered in a carpet of small white flowered plants. I discovered that wild garlic is to be found in early summer in many woodland areas and is clearly not so rare after all!

It is well worth looking out for wild garlic in early summer. As with any foraged food, you need to make sure that you have identified the plant correctly. In the case of wild garlic, this is pretty easy as you just need to crush one of the garlic-scented leaves to check.

Other quiche and tart recipes

I make a lot of quiches and savoury tarts. In my view, they are one of the most versatile and useful dishes. They are easy to make and easy to divide into portions, they can be made in advance, they can be served hot or cold, there are a lot of vegetarian options which still seem to please meat-eaters and there are lots and lots of possible flavour combinations. In addition to this Onion Tart, some of my favourites from this are listed below.

Loved this recipe? Check out the Recipe Index

  • Line tart dish with pastry
  • Bake until pastry has set
  • Fry onions slowly until caramelised
  • Put caramelised onions into pastry case
  • Add chopped herbs
  • Add beaten eggs and cream. Season to taste and bake for 30 minutes.

Recipe for Onion Tart with Wild Garlic and Herbs

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Onion Tart with Wild Garlic

Onion Tart

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
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Description

This easy vegetarian Onion Tart is flavoured with a selection of fresh herbs including wild garlic.  It is fresh and tasty and can be eaten warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

Scale

For the pastry:

  • 275 g (10 oz) plain flour
  • 125 g (5 oz) fat (I use a mix of half butter and half Trex as I think this makes the lightest pastry)
  • Salt
  • A little water

 

For the filling:

  • 4 large onions – about 450 g (1lb) 
  • 50 g (2 oz) butter and 1 tablespoon oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)
  • A bunch (approximately 15 g or 0.5 oz) of mixed fresh herbs such as Wild Garlic, Chives and Parsley
  • 120 ml (4 fluid oz) double cream
  • 2 eggs

 

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Make the pastry. Put the flour in a bowl.  Add the fat and combine –  either by “rubbing in” by hand or processing – until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add a little cold water (2-3 tbsp) and shape the mixture into a dough.
  3. Peel and chop the onions.
  4. Heat the butter and oil in your frying pan.   It helps if the pan is good quality with a thick bottom as this will disseminate the heat evenly and prevent burning.
  5. Add the onions to the pan, season with salt and pepper,  and cook at a very low heat for about 30 minutes.  Keep an eye on them to make sure they are not burning and stir occasionally.  The onions are done when they are light brown, soft and, when tasted, are sweet.  You can add a teaspoon of brown sugar to increase  the sweetness of the onions at this stage if you wish.
  6. Set the onion mixture aside to cool slightly.
  7. Roll out your pastry and use it to line your quiche or flan dish.   Bake for 20 minutes in the oven to allow the pastry to “set”.  This will stop the filling making it soggy.
  8. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the cream, and beat until combined. 
  9. Wash and finely chop the fresh herbs.
  10. Place the onion mixture and chopped herbs in your pastry case and then pour in the egg mixture.
  11. Place your quiche or flan dish in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
  12. The tart can be eaten hot, room temperature or cold.

Loved this recipe? Check out the Recipe Index

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Cooking with My Kids  and #Fiesta Friday with Fiesta Friday and  Liz @ Spades, Spatulas & Spoons

Caramelised Onion Tart

Caramelised Onion Tart
Onion Tart

Caramelised Onion Tart

This  recipe for Caramelised Onion Tart is based on a recipe in  Vegetarian Kitchen by Sarah Brown.    I bought this book many years ago, in my early twenties, when I was a vegetarian.  Subsequently, I have changed my diet to include fish and some meat, but I still love vegetarian food and often cook meat-free at home.

I have cooked this recipe many, many times.  It is, in my opinion, simply the best onion tart ever.  Occasionally, I will think that I will try a different recipe but I always come back to this one.  The key to its luscious loveliness is to cook the onions really, really slowly for a long, long time so that they soften and gently caramelise without burning.

Nutmeg

The taste of the caramelised onions is enhanced by the nutmeg, a spice that has a myriad of uses in both sweet and savoury dishes.   It is really worth buying whole nutmegs and grating a bit off them  when you need it rather than buying ground nutmeg.  Just use an ordinary grater, there is no need to buy a special nutmeg grinder.  The pungency of fresh nutmeg is a revelation and adds an extra dimension of flavour to the tart.

Caramelised onion tart, onion quiche, caramelised onion quiche
Pastry case for tart

Equipment

Large, heavy frying pan, quiche or flan dish  (28 cm)

Caramelised onion tart, onion tart, onion quiche, caramelised onion quiche
Eggs and cheese

Caramelised Onion Tart

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Caramelised onion tart, onion tart, onion quiche, caramelised onion quiche

Caramelised Onion Tart

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 55
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 1 tart serving 8 people 1x
  • Category: Tart
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English
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Description

This luscious tart is filled with caramelised onions, subtly flavoured with nutmeg, set in a rich cheese custard.  It is fantastic for hot, warm or cold which makes it very versatile.  I honestly believe this is the best onion tart!

Ingredients

Scale

For the pastry:

  • 275 g plain flour
  • 125 g fat (I use a mix of half butter and half Trex as I think this makes the lightest pastry)
  • Salt
  • A little water

For the filling:

  • 6 large onions (white or red is fine) plus a further 3-5 onions or shallots for decoration
  • 40 g butter and 1 tbs oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp brown sugar (optional)
  • Grated nutmeg  (best to grate this from a whole nutmeg as this has best flavour)
  • 100 ml double cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 100 g strong cheddar cheese (grated)
  • A little olive oil

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 C, 350 F or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Make the pastry. Put the flour in a bowl.  Add the fat and combine –  either by “rubbing in” by hand or processing – until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add a little cold water (2-3 tbsp) and shape the mixture into a dough.
  3. Peel and chop the onions.
  4. Heat the butter and oil in your frying pan.   It helps if the pan is good quality with a thick bottom as this will disseminate the heat evenly and prevent burning.
  5. Add the onions to the pan, season with salt and pepper,  and cook at a very low heat for about 30 minutes.  Keep an eye on them to make sure they are not burning and stir occasionally.  The onions are done when they are light brown, soft and, when tasted, are sweet.
  6. Season the onions with the grated nutmeg to taste (about half a tsp – although I add a bit more as I like it!).   You can add a tsp of brown sugar to increase  the sweetness of the onions at this stage if you wish.
  7. Set the onion mixture aside to cool slightly.
  8. Roll out your pastry and use it to line your quiche or flan dish.   Bake for 5  minutes in the oven to allow the pastry to “set”.  This will stop the filling making it soggy!
  9. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the cream, and beat until combined.  Finely grate the cheddar cheese and add to the mixture.
  10. Now place the onion mixture in your pastry case.  Pour the egg mixture over it.
  11. Thinly slice the onions or shallots that you have set aside for decoration.  The aim is to have a number of different sized circles of onion or shallot which you can use to decorate the top of the tart.  Arrange artistically (!) and then brush with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  12. Place your quiche or flan dish in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
  13. The tart can be eaten hot, room temperature or cold.

Keywords: onion, tart

 

Caramelised onion tart, onion tart, onion quiche, caramelised onion quiche
Put your onions in the tart…

Caramelised onion tart, onion tart, onion quiche, caramelised onion quiche
…add cheese and egg mixture…

 

Love this recipe?  You may also like

Butternut Squash Tart with Chilli and Sage

Herb Tartlets