It was a pleasant cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung my old waterproof on the coat rack to dry and put my warm and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of my coat and a pencil and started to write.
---Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast
Spring rain. It's invigorating. It's fresh. It's chilling to the bone. There are many pleasant ways to greet the dampness, as Ernest Hemingway shows us. Even on a busy day, you can welcome a spring rain with a warming bowl of homemade soup. French Onion Soup is a favorite of many. The SimplyCooking® version a everyday recipe you'll make season after season. On this rainy spring day, I shall do both; make a pot of French Onion Soup for our evening meal, and meet and friend and work over a cafe au lait at one of our favorite cafes. Who knows? The next Hemingway may be sitting there too; sipping a latte, listening to his ipod, tapping on his laptop.
french onion soup
3 Tbsp. butter
3 large onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp AP flour
1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt, Celtic Sea Salt preferred
Freshly ground pepper
5 cups vegetable broth
1 baguette, sliced into 1/4" rounds
4 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp grated mozzarella cheese
In a large soup pot, warm the butter over medium-low heat. Add sliced onions and cook for 30 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the onions and stir for 2 minutes. Add the paprika, salt and pepper. Add the broth in a steady stream, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the broiler. Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Broil until lightly browned; about 3 minutes.
When ready to serve, ladle soup into warmed individual serving bowls. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella and top with a Parmesan toast.
