Hey guys, salud! It's Alex today We are making onion soup—due to popular demand within my previous video—which was all about onion cutting. I've got so many leftovers. I could do like, liters and liters of onion soup, and that's precisely what we're gonna do. But I'm gonna make the process a bit more efficient. I believe there is a common misconception when it comes to the onion soup. You see, many people think that the flavors come from the onion, which is not exactly the case. I mean—sweetness: yes, caramelization: of course, softness: whatever— Complexity of flavors comes from the stock: the beef stock. And that's why we need to make a proper one from scratch. Let's begin! Quite surprisingly, things do not start in a big heavy pot, but in fact, in a baking tray. So, I've got some beef. These are trimmings, and, you know, inexpensive cuts of good beef; all of what you could be considering waste. Which, in fact, is gonna' shine throughout this dish. I'm just gonna cut everything into manageable pieces; the more surface you have, the more browning you will get Of course the bone... ...goes in. Let's get the grinder. Grinding part of the meat gets me more surface so more browning and more flavors. I think we need to improve this... Does it look safe? No. Are we still gonna do it? Ooh, la! Apparently something is smelling a bit burnt... ...so...ah... Garlic, *frozen* onion, the carrots, celery... Season well with salt and pepper, and in the oven it goes, for about 1 hour at 250°C, on broiler mode or grill mode On large quantities using the oven to broil or to grill the food is more efficient than using a pot to sear the food If I were to make a vegetarian or vegan version of that I think I would use more varieties of vegetables like probably ...fennel, leek, mushrooms — to get the right meatiness, and also a dash of soy sauce So in order to make beef stock this needs to simmer now for at least 4 hours If you do it in an open pot, like, for example, a Dutch oven, it will definitely work but it won't be the most efficient. I have another solution for you. This: [laughs] a... ...pressure cooker. It goes much faster, about twice as fast, and also it wastes less energy Not gonna work in a million years it would never work And now I am adding three litres of water... ...to boost the flavors I'm also adding a bunch of dried herbs. This is bay leaves and thyme. And to give a final boost to the umami, I'm gonna add 100 grams of tomato puree. Which is about.... umm... Like this. A bit of salt – easy on the salt for now, and then we'll correct the seasoning later on. Full whack at first, and then I reduce it to super low for at least two hours Ah, oui! You want to strain out all the solid stuff and keep all the pure juices. Then you can just remove the fat... So I've got five to six kilos of chopped onion right here Do not be any scared by the amount of onions in the pot right now because it's gonna reduce down tremendously I'm just adding a bit of salt to get all the last moisture out...just lowering the heat a bit It should stay like this around 20 to 30 minutes Also a little cheat to speed up the caramelization process you can throw in there like a tablespoon of sugar. [plus 1 tsp baking soda] Once you've reached a deep brown color it is time to move on to the next stage. You want to de-glaze the pan with a bit of white wine Acidity freshness and also some naughty brandy Intense deep flavor. Do not forget a bit of four spices. Now we need to add a bit of flour. Any flour would work, you know, to thicken the broth at the end. Right. Now, it's time to add the second player of this beautiful story, beef stock. So all we need to do right now is to let it simmer for about 30 minutes to up to an hour. I think if I want to stick to that efficiency theme. I'm just gonna do it pressure cooker style Dish. So to finish it, it's super simple. Just top it with bread. I want the bread to soak up this intense soup, but at the same time I want it to be a bit crispy as well. A guilty amount of cheese. Any cheese would work, like Cheddar, Emmentaler, but of course I'm picking a French one for this. Now, pop it in the oven until it's nicely charred. So a quick notice even though I made a family dish here in the oven, I've still got what it takes to make another one. I'm gonna stick that in the freezer and use it another time. Whoa.... Time to give it a proper test, I guess. Soft... ...sweetness, crispy bread... ...melting cheese. Slightly tangy, but very slightly because of the white wine. So, guys, that's it. I hope you enjoyed this recipe and if you did Please give it a big thumbs up, like. Did you especially want to share that with the person cooking at your place so that they get the memo. I try to make the whole process as efficient as possible But there is always room for improvement So if you have any ideas then please share those in the comments down below Last people click subscribe because I make new videos every week, and if it's always always about food always it's also about being inventive being creative, like for example the previous video in which I try to improve my onion cutting skills with street technique Take care, bye bye, stay curious. Salud. Just as I thought that ain't shit
