A carrot soup that actually tastes good!

Do you want a carrot soup that taste carroty but not too much? Carrot taste can be a little 'overpowering' and I am tired of seeing so many carrot and coriander soup recipes, so here is a variation with onions and thyme.

1 kg carrots
1 large onion
olive oil
Fresh thyme
salt
vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to season
Yogurt to serve (optional)

Clean and steam the carrots. In the meantime slice the onion and cook in a frying pan with a little olive oil, salt and a few sprigs of fresh thyme until translucent. Place the steamed carrots and onion in a mixer and turn into a puree. Place into a soup pot and cover with vegetable stock. Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes (the longer the better). Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot with a few fresh leaves of thyme and, if you like, a dollop of yogurt (dairy or vegan).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Roasted onion 'lily'

I saw this idea on Pinterest and loved it! Just peel and cut whole onions from the top into 6 or 8 slices, but leaving the end attached. Then, when you roast the onions they will open like lily flowers.

Of course the Pinterest photo had onions that looked brighter and … raw, yes possibly more photogenic, but surely not as tasty! Roast your onions properly, until they are soft and sweet. I roasted mine with potatoes, adding olive oil, salt and spices (also, I cannot digest raw onions, so I do prefer to cook them anyway). Next time I will try to boil them first and see what happens :-).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Sublime Onion Tartlets

This recipe is from my book Savour, it is really easy and the result is guaranteed to make your dinner guests go WOW! All you need is ordinary brown onions (one per person for a main or just half per person for a starter). Peel the onions and boil whole for about 10 minutes (or until half cooked but not too soft) then cut in half horizontally. For every two onions melt about 50g of salted butter in a pan and add 2 to 4 tsp of brown sugar (it depends on your taste). Put the onions, cut side down, into the pan and them place them into individual ramekins (still cut side down. Add the remaining butter. Cover each onion with a disk of flaky puff pastry (your own or bought, I used Paneton) and press down well until you get a 'bowler hat' shape around your onion. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Reverse over a serving plate (or individual plates, they will pop out easily). Serve hot, they are deliciously buttery and fragrant, topped at the table with Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena Extravecchio, or with grated Parmigiano, or freshly ground black pepper… or just by themselves! Sorry about the 'orange' photo below, but the time we had dinner it was dark!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Zuppa alla Cipolla Rossa, Timo e crosta di Parmigiano - Red onion, thyme and parmesan crust soup

This is real 'cucina povera', a simple dish made with humble ingredients and leftovers. Chop two red onions and sauté with a couple of tbsp of olive oil and some fresh thyme. Add 1 litre of vegetable stock and one or two crusts of parmesan cheese. Simmer until the onions and the parmesan crusts are soft.

At this point you can either remove the parmesan crusts and cut off the softest parts (to put back into the soup), or keep simmering the lot until the crusts are really really soft (you will need to add another half a litre of water). I usually use only the softest part and then cut the rest of the crust (which is a bit chewy) for the cats. Dogs also love it!  Blend everything with an immersion blender and serve with some home made bread!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Balsamic glazed onions - Cipolline con Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena

These lovely and aromatic little onions can be served hot or cold, as an antipasto or side vegetable.

I should have used little Italian flat onions, like the borrettane, but they don't sell them in NZ so I used some normal pickling onions. Peel the onions, soak in water for two hours, drain and then cook very slowly with a dollop of salted butter, a few fresh sage leaves and a pinch of salt for a long long time. I cooked them in a Le Creuset pot, with the lid on, stirring often. Check to see if you need to add just a little water half way through, but personally I didn't need it, mostly they cooked in their own steam (Le Creuset pots have great lids!!) and they caramelized a little too, becoming sweet and fragrant. All in all they took about 2 hours. Once they were cooked I turned the element off and added a drizzle of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena Extra Vecchio (25 year old), covered them again with the lid, and let them rest for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Popular variations include adding cloves, or grilling the onions instead of simmering them (obviously the flat onions are easier to grill than the round pickling onions!).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Slow Food Waitakere and Canederli with Cheese and Onion Sauce

Yesterday we had the Slow Food Waitakere AGM at my place, followed by brunch, which was actually a long lunch! Everybody brought food and drinks, and it was such a great spread! So lovely to have so many good Slow Food friends who happen to be good cooks too!

And now for the recipe of the day: Canederli (Knödel in German) is something my Mum made often when I was a child. There is no strict recipe because they are made with left-overs, and the base is left-over bread. But here you can find my basic recipe, with step by step instructions. I really prefer them in a broth, but the other day I wanted to make them with onions and cheese, I didn't think of publishing them on the blog as the photos are not exactly pretty, but my husband loved them! He said that he actually preferred them served this way! Once again left over bread was put into good use!

Canederli with Cheese and Onion Sauce

Prepare the canederli and cook them in a light vegetables stock (instructions here). Peel and finely slice 4 onions (white or brown) and simmer them slowly with a little olive oil and salt. I cooked them in my Le Creuset pot, on low and keeping the lid on, for about 45 minutes. I added a little stock from the canederli from time to time, but just a drop. When the onions were as soft as butter I added the canederli (cooked and drained, keep the stock to drink!), I grated some edam cheese on top, added a sprig of fresh sage and put the lid back on for 5 minutes. Then I served them, with lots of sauce. Yes, they were perfect and filling for a winter evening!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©