Cheater French Onion Soup

If I had to pick one soup to eat for the rest of my life...it'd probably be French onion.  (It might be tomato soup, but I think it'd depend on the day you ask.)  There is something fantastic about the simplicity of it: onions, cooked slowly until they turn a dark, caramel brown; a few simple seasonings; a rich broth; and of course, a toasted, melty, cheesy crust of bread on top sopping up the juices.

There's just one problem.  French onion soup takes a long time to make.  I mean, caramelized onions are no joke--you have to cook them over low heat for half an hour or forty-five minutes before you're even close to ready, and then you have to add everything else and give it some time to simmer together....By the time you're lapping up the dregs from the bottom of your soup crock you've been hungry (and smelling soup-makings) for hours.

Well, I offer you a simple solution: cheat.

That's right, I said it.  Cheat.

Last year I was perusing foodgawker and the like and came upon a wondrous claim: that, by employing the miracle machine that is the crock pot, one could make caramelized onions without any effort or waiting or constant attention.  Turns out, it's really simple.  Combine pre-caramelized onions with a little vegetable (or beef, if you're into that) broth, some thyme, salt, and pepper, and a cheesy toast-thing for dipping, and you're good to go.

Caramelized onions
6-8 large yellow onions
2 T butter

-Halve and peel the onions, then slice evenly in the direction of your choosing.  (I went cross-grain, but you could julienne, too, if you prefer.  Not sure what difference, if any, it would make.)
-Put the butter in the bottom of a large crock pot. Throw all the onions on top of the butter, until the crock pot is full.
-Cook on high for a few hours to get things going, then turn down the heat.  Cook until the onions are caramelized to your taste.*

Yield: about 6-7 cups.  I put a jarful in the fridge, used some immediately, and froze two containers' worth.

*Note: I foolishly started mine at around 6pm, so at around 9 they were just starting to turn pale beige.  I turned the heat to low and went to bed, and they were perfect the next morning.

Cheater French Onion Soup
serves 1
1/4 to 1/2 c. caramelized onions
1 tsp vegetable bouillon mix or 1 veg bouillon cube
S&P to taste
dash of dried thyme
1 to 1 1/2 c. water

Combine all ingredients in a pot.  Simmer until warmed through.  Serve with cheesy toast things. 

Ready to be packed for lunch: in the bottom, caramelized onions.
Top right, dried thyme; bottom right, bouillon paste.

Cheesy toast things
favorite cheese
bread

Put cheese on bread.  Broil until bubbly.

Added hot water, stirred it around, and
let it sit for a few minutes.  Instant soup!

***
Here's how I cheated even more.  I packed this for lunch--our cafeteria has a hot water dispenser, so I put my onions and seasonings into a jar, packed cheese and crackers to eat on the side, and added hot water when I was ready to eat.  No fuss, plus it's warm and comforting when the weather has finally decided it's fall outside and should therefore be drizzly and gray all day.

Say it with me: Rat-ah-too-ee

Ratatouille.

Is there another more enigmatic food word?  For me, (thanks, Disney/Pixar) it conjures up visions of a happily contented foodie-rat who moves to Paris to pursue his dream job as a chef.  It also makes me think of summer vacation, hot and humid days, and the south of France.

Ratatouille is a Provençal dish that really says everything summer: fresh as can be produce, thrown together with a few glugs of olive oil and some s&p, and baked until everything's tender and simmering in their own juices.  Sometimes when I want a quick pasta sauce, I do a riff on ratatouille in a saucepan and throw in some spaghetti or linguine and toss it around.

This ratatouille was inspired by smitten kitchen's excellent recipe for it here. If you are moderately good at slicing things, you're good to go.  If you have a mandoline, even better and you won't have to meticulously cut every slice yourself.  If slicing things carefully and consistently isn't your thing, dice everything the same size and throw it on a baking sheet or in a casserole and cook it anyway!  The original dish from Provence is pretty rustic and forgiving.

Ingredients:

1 baby eggplant

2 small or 1 large summer squash

1 medium zucchini

2 roma tomatoes

1 yellow onion

1 large or a couple small garlic cloves

olive oil

thyme

salt & pepper

I was feeling stripey.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Slice the eggplant, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes thinly into rounds.  Cut the onion in half (or quarters) and slice the same thickness as the other veggies.
3. Pour 1-2 T of olive oil in the bottom of your casserole.  Grate a clove of garlic into the oil (thank you, microplane! or you could mince it.) and smush it around with your finger (or a spoon, I guess) so it gets into the olive oil and all over the bottom.

4. Layer the veggie slices in concentric circles in the baking dish.  

See how pretty?  I love the bright colors and the pattern the veggies make.

5. Drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil over the top, sprinkle with dried thyme or a few sprigs fresh if you have it, and salt & pepper generously.

6. Bake for 45-55 minutes until vegetables are tender and just starting to release some juices.  Bake covered the first 25 minutes and uncovered for the rest.

Voilà!

That's it!  Really, the hardest part is slicing the veggies thinly, and even that isn't that bad.  Plus, it looks so pretty as you arrange it in the dish that everyone will be impressed when you put it on the table.  I made this for a community potluck on Tuesday night and got so many compliments that I'm taking it tonight for a potluck with friends.

Update: There was just a little left over, so I saved it and had it for lunch over quinoa with another tiny drizzle of olive oil.  Yum!

Enjoy your summer veggies!

Love,
Lindsey