Soup #6 - Blue Cheese-Onion Soup

 The Year of Soup

Soup #6 - Onion Soup

    The original recipe (Blue Cheese-Onion Soup) comes from The Blender Way to Better Cooking For Every Day.. Every Meal...Everybody, published  in 1965. I will say that I liked the soup, but I would choose parmesan cheese rather than blue cheese the next time I make this. I have modified the recipe and will show my modifications in italics. Serve with hot, crusty French bread. 

Ingredients:

2 large onions, chopped

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1/8 tsp black pepper

32 oz beef broth

1/2 tsp beef bouillon powder

1-2 cups water

crumbled blue cheese or grated parmesan for topping

red chili flakes (optional)

Directions:

Blend chopped onion with a tiny bit of water in a food processor until finely chopped. Drain any excess liquid. Brown onion in butter. Add pepper, bouillon powder, water and bouillon. Simmer, covered for 30 minutes.  Serve in bowls topped with blue cheese or parmesan and a sprinkle of red chili flakes if desired. 

Onion Soup with Blue Cheese

Charley The Muffin Man (It's kind of a tradition now that I put him in pictures with what I've made. 

Onion Soup with Homemade Bread Croutons and Melted Mozzarella

Gochujang Chickpeas

 Gochujang Chickpeas

    This recipe is in Eric Kim's Korean American: food that tastes like home. I borrowed this book from my local library and really liked it. What I liked about this recipe is that it is pretty easy. The flavors were delicious. Although I didn't have the scallions (I forgot to buy this ingredient) or sesame seeds (I thought I already had some at home), it was still good without it. The scallions are a garnish, so optional in my humble opinion. It would be super pretty though. You can serve this as a snack or like I did, served over rice as a main dish. I would definitely make this again. 

Ingredients: 

1 15oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried

2 tbsp olive oil

Kosher salt (I used pink Himalayan sea salt to taste)

ground pepper to taste 

3 tbsps ketchup

1 tbsp gochujang paste

1 tbsp strawberry jam

1 tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium soy sauce)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional garnish)

2 lg scallions, julienned into long strips and soaked in ice water (this will curl the strips) (optional garnish)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss chickpeas with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until crispy. In a small saucepan, combine ketchup, gochujang, strawberry jam, soy sauce and garlic. Over medium-high heat, bring to a gentle simmer. Stir constantly! The author calls this yangnyeom sauce. Simmer for one minute. 

Stir in crispy chickpeas and continue to stir, reducing the sauce slightly. The chickpeas will absorb some of the sauce and will get sticky. Move the chickpeas to one side of the pan. Add honey to the empty side; stir constantly, letting the honey bubble up and cook for about a minute. The honey will reduce and caramelize. Mix the honey into the chickpeas. 

To serve as a side dish, remove the chickpeas to a plate or bowl and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds if desired. To serve as a main dish, spoon chickpeas over cooked white rice and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. 

Poor Charley The MuffinMan (I always take pictures of him looking at the food I've made for the blog). 

Gochujang Chickpeas