(Creamy) Red Onion Soup

The creamy part is optional, if you're looking for a vegan onion soup recipe.

This red onion soup recipe was in the newspaper one day, and it's the first recipe I've used that I read and used in German. My German is improving! My German is improving! I'm sorry there are no photos yet. Next time I cook it I will remember to document the process. But you can do this without photos, believe me. It is that simple and easy.

Most importantly, this is a delicious onion soup recipe. It's a simple soup recipe, but it does require a couple of odd ingredients. I've made it three or four times in the last two months and I can see that this will be a staple for winters to come. And it's just as yummy the next day for lunch. I've even cooked it early in the day and reheated it for guests later in the evening - still perfectly delicious. The soup will separate a little, but once warm it will blend together easily.

Who ever heard of a red onion soup? Everyone knows about French onion soup, or as they say in France 'soupe a l'oignon'. This is very different. It's a blended soup, which means it's hard to mess it up as long as you've got an 'immersion blender', which is what I hear it's called in English. In German we just call it by its literal name: Stabmixer. (Don't forget to pronounce the 'st' like 'sht').

The soup has three garnishes - croutons, which you can buy readymade or make yourself with the recipe below, creme fraîche, and some of the gently fried onions. Mmmmm.

Anyway, let's get to my translation of the actual red onion soup recipe and hope for the best, shall we?

Rote-Zwiebel-Rahmsuppe (Red Onion Cream Soup)
Cook and prep time: About 40 minutes

Ingredients (for 4-6 servings):

500 grams (1.1 lbs) red onions (Höri-Bülle, if you can find them, otherwise whatever)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
150ml (2/3rds of a cup) apple juice
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1.5 Liters (6.35 cups) broth of your choice
150g (5.3 oz) creme fraîche
1 shot of dry vermouth
salt and pepper

Garnish: Croutons (recipe also included below)


Cut the onions into slices. In a medium soup pot, use 3 tablespoons of oil to cook the onions over medium heat, stirring often. If they are cooking too fast, lower the heat until they are cooking gently and slowly. After about 5 minutes, or when they are soft and slightly transparent, add a pinch of salt and then set aside about 2-3 tablespoons of the onions to use later as garnish.

Next you will deglaze the pot with the shot of dry vermouth. Pour in the vermouth and stir the onions, letting the vermouth cook off and into the onions. When the pan is almost dry again, add half of the apple juice. Cook until it is absorbed. Then add the other half of the apple juice, letting it cook into the onions, too. Don't boil the onions in apple juice! Do it in two steps!

Once the liquid is again absorbed, add the tomato paste and stir well, allowing it to heat and cook for a minute or two. Add the broth and some salt and pepper (careful with salt, your broth may already be plenty salty), and then let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat.

Meanwhile, set aside a small portion of the creme fraîche to us as a garnish.

After 10 minutes, remove the soup from heat and add the remaining creme fraîche, stirring until it is mostly combined. Now use your immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. It will still be a pretty thin liquid, not thick and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a few croutons, a dollop of creme fraîche, and some slivers of onion, and even some cayenne if you're into that.


Croutons

Ingredients:
4 cups bread cubes, best is baguette or a dried out stump of bakery bread
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 176C / 350F. Mix the salt and pepper into the olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Toss the bread cubes into the oil until coated fairly evenly. Spread bread out on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast in the oven for 6-7 minutes, toss them well, and then put them back in for another 6-7 minutes. They should look toasted when you remove them.

Let the croutons cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet to dry out just that little bit more. Yumm.

How to Make Fruit Kefir

Last summer my friend and I started making kefir every day and got really into fruit kefir. It's basically homemade soda (I'm convinced this is where the idea of soda came from) but gently fermented like kombucha. It's very easy to maintain as long as you're into it and can do it almost every day. I'm no doctor, but the amount of probiotics in this stuff has to be good for you. The kefir is alive and it digests the sugar (fermentation) but there's only a trace amount of alcohol. Which is good for you, of course. I'm quite certain it's much better for you than regular soda. Plus it's delicious. 

Here's the set of instructions which I made for a friend to whom I sent some dried out kefir so she and her daughter could start drinking fruit kefir, too. I have had two kinds of fruit kefir. The first was a very fine sediment which had to be cared for carefully - very easy to accidentally dump it. The second is full kefir grains, which are like big lumpy tapiocas which can be strained out and are easier to care for.

Main 2 liter jar of water kefir on left, two-1 liter bottles, plastic funnel and measuring cup (and a mess).

A few important things:

1. Avoid metals! You know this if you make milk kefir, but the deal is that only absolutely for certain 100% stainless steel is okay. I finally found some really high quality stainless steel things, but I used plastic for a long time just to be sure. A lot of stainless things are just coated with stainless steel and a small imperfection could do the kefir harm.

2. You can totally leave the kefir for a couple of days without "feeding" it fresh sugar water. If you leave it for 4 days or more it won't be drinkable and the kefir will be starving. It'll be super sour as the kefir will have digested every last bit of sugar. If you're going away for a long time, I recommend drying it out with a clean piece of cloth. With fine sediment kefir, pour the kefir through the cloth slowly and try to capture as much goop as you can. Dry it in the open completely before wrapping it in cloth or paper towels for storage. It can then be re-animated when you're back and ready.

3. This is a two stage fermentation process. The first fermentation is 24-48 hours on the counter unsealed with the kefir, sugar water, lemon, and fig. The second stage is 12-24 hours in a sealed bottle on the counter with fruit or tea which is primarily to flavor the kefir. Then it goes in the fridge to stop fermentation and cool for delicious enjoyment.

4. The lemon and fig are mostly for proper acidity and can be left out if you run out. Or you can use half as much for a short time. The kefir won't die if you don't have these things. Fresh figs are called for but I can't get those and dried figs are easy. They work just fine.

5. Depending on how long you leave the fruit kefir in the bottle for the second fermentation - and how well sealed the bottles are - you'll get more or less carbonation. Experiment. But I warn you, if you leave it out on the counter for more than 18 hours, you may want to open it outside, just in case. Better than spraying it all over your kitchen and yourself. (Yes, I have done this).

6. The level of sweetness is also dictated by the amount of time it spends in the bottle. After about a day in the fridge it's pretty sour. So drink everything within about a day or simply pour the leftovers out. I know, I find it hard to waste it, too.

7. The flavoring process is really fun and you should experiment. I use half of a clementine per 1/4 gallon (1 liter) bottle. One of my favorites is lavender and lemon. We also got great flavors from dried cranberries. About 15-20 crans with a sprig of mint or half an apple = mmmm. We also use teas, from black teas including earl grey (my favorite) to green tea or mint tea or sage tea... again, see what you like. I recommend a tablespoon of tea, at least, but you'll have to see what you prefer. I use two tablespoons for lighter teas.

8. The type of 2nd fermentation bottles you get is important, both because they should seal tightly and because putting thin slices of apple or citrus in (and getting them out) can be tough. You'll see the bottles I use in the pictures. They're great as far as sealing (and because there's very little metal and it doesn't touch the kefir) but it takes time getting used to the process of putting the fruit in and getting it out. Filling the bottle (once it's empty) with water and pouring the fruit into the sink has been the best strategy.

9. Just ask if you have questions or problems!

10. You really can't go wrong as long as you don't pour out the goop at the bottom. Just leave it in there and keep refilling. It's nice to have a second 1/2 gallon (2 liter) jar so you can sometimes transfer the fruit kefir and completely clean out the jar, but I only have one and it's fine.

Okay! Now the process!

In the package I sent, the kefir was like a dried out gob of lemon seeds, small dark brown fig seeds, and a creamy colored powder/goop, wrapped in some cloth. It can stay in this dried out state for a long time.

Put as much of the kefir and seeds as you can into a half gallon (2 liter) glass jar and wash through the cloth with a bit of water if it helps you extract a bit more. The seeds accumulate. They do no harm. With sediment-like fruit kefit, they're impossible to remove without losing some kefir, too.

Equipment:
One 1 gallon/2 liter jar with a non-metal lid
Two 1/2 gallon/1 liter bottles
100% stainless steel or plastic funnel
100% stainless steel or plastic fine mesh strainer
A large measuring cup

Ingredients: lemons, dried (or fresh) figs, sugar, and water. Each batch requires:

1/2 lemon, cut in half again
1 dried/fresh fig, quartered
1/3 cup sugar, mixed well into about 1/2 gallon (2 liters) of water

Steps:
1. Mix 1/3 cup of sugar (I use unrefined, organic cane sugar) with 1/2 gallon of water.
2. Cut a half a lemon into two slices
3. Cut a dried (or fresh!) fig into four quarters

Put the fig pieces, lemon slices, and sugar water into your jar with the kefir and leave it on the counter for 24 hours. 

The lid should not be closed tightly! For this stage, gas needs to escape. So turn the lid all the way tight and then back it off a bit so air can escape. 

24 hours is the length of time that seems to work for me, but the other measure is "when the figs float". So you could do this as often as you get floating figs. The temperature of your kitchen will also have an effect. Warmer and it'll ferment faster, colder and it'll slow down.

The next day, about 24 hrs later, without mixing up the liquid, slowly and gently pour off as much water kefir as you can and toss it out. This first batch should be tossed because the kefir is now just waking up. If you have kefir grains, strain out the kefir and dump all the liquid. I usually grab the floating figs and lemons with my freshly washed fingers. You may want to do another batch or two before drinking it to let the kefir revive properly.

looking ready

don't pour out that stuff on the bottom

that's about what's left after I pour off the drinking kefir

Now, refill the jar again with the same mixture of water and sugar, lemon and fig.


For the first drinkable batch:

When the kefir has been on the counter for 24-48 hours and you're ready for the 2nd fermentation, start by prepping your fruit or tea and putting it into your 2nd ferment bottles.

cranberry mint today

Pick out the lemon and figs from the main jar. If you want to, squeeze the lemons back into the water kefir - this is mostly for flavor. I do it every time. The figs and lemons are now done and can get composted or whatever you do.

If you have kefir grains you will simply strain the kefir out, reserving the liquid to pour into your sealable bottles. With sediment kefir, gently and slowly pour the fruit kefir from the main jar into a measuring cup (or something similar) that makes it easy to pour into the funnel and the bottles.

Because of the sediment, I usually pour one liter (or 1/4 gallon) into the measuring cup, split it evenly between the two bottles, and then pour the rest and split that evenly. The last bit that you gently and slowly pour out of the main jar will have some kefir floating in it. This continues to digest sugar and plays a major role in the carbonation process. I try not to pour off more than I need to get the majority of the liquid out, but sometimes I pour a bit extra so I know I get bubbles. If you have sediment style kefir, you'll see white-ish, flake-like floaties and you'll know what I'm talking about.

The bottles with fruit or tea and kefir in them should be well sealed and should rest on the counter for 12 hours (or so). 18hrs seems okay, too, and makes for fizzy drink. Any more and it tends to get a bit like a shaken bottle of champagne. Fun! But messy. Results will dramatically differ depending on the temperature of your kitchen, the season, etc, so you'll just have to experiment.

After 12 hours, the kefir bottles can go in the fridge. As soon as it's cold, it's ready to drink! I use a small (yeah) plastic or 100% stainless steel fine mesh strainer to keep the fruit and tea out of my glass.

always this on my counter and two more bottles in the fridge