A Sweet Onion Soup from Tuscany

Carabaccia is a humble sweet onion soup from Tuscany.

First time I tried it was in Florence, a whisker way from The Ponte Vecchio bridge, which spans the river Arno.

It was served in a boat shaped dish, and when I asked the waiter what was the significance of the odd shaped soup bowl, he was happy to explain in to me broken English and lots of animated arm movements (Italians are very good at that).

Carabaccia, is a small boat, shaped like a walnut shell, and was used in ancient times to ferry salt and sand across the river Arno that passes through Florence, the recipe dates back as far as he was aware to the 1300’s.

He went on to explain it was forefather of French onion soup and what’s the betting the French stole the recipe from the Italians?

He added, history has it that when Catherine de’ Medici, a Florentine, married Henry, the second son of the King of France, she took her own Florentine cooks and artisans with her, and from the Medici kitchen, this “Renaissance recipe”, which then started the tradition of an onion based soup (Soupe a l’oignon).

Although I was getting a bit “starvin’ marvin” by the time he finished I did enjoy the history lesson and how they made the soup.

Although they lay the bread and cheese at the bottom of the bowl, then pour the soup over, I like mine on top.

Here’s the recipe:

Serves 4
Prep Time 20 mins
Cooking Time 1 hour
Ingredients

• 1kg Red onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 Large carrots, washed and finely chopped
• 2 Large sticks celery, washed and finely chopped
• 100g Almonds, (see Cook’s tips 1.)
• 150ml White wine vinegar
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tsp Light brown sugar
• 1 Litre Chicken stock (see Cook’s tips 2.)
• 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 12 Slices of bread (see Cook’s tips 3.)
• Gruyere cheese, grated
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Blitz the almonds in a food processor until fine
• Pour into a bowl and add the wine vinegar
• Add the cinnamon stick, stir and leave for an hour, to amalgamate
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in heavy saucepan and add the carrots, celery and onions
• Cook for about an hour on a low heat, cover, stir frequently to avoid burning
• Stir in tablespoonful of Balsamic vinegar
• Rinse the almonds in a sieve under running cold water
• Discard the cinnamon stick
• Pour the almond paste into the saucepan and stir
• Add the sugar, stock, salt and pepper, bring to the boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes
• Slice the French stick into fairly thick rounds and toast one side
• Turn over and add the grated Gruyere cheese and return to the grill until cheese is cooked (see Cook’s tips 4.)
• Pour the soup into a suitable bowl and lay the toasted cheese rounds on top

Cook's tips

• 1. I used 100g packet of chopped almonds
• 2. I used 2 Knorr Chicken stock cubes
• 3. I used a French stick
• 4. How much cheese is your choice

Equipment

• Large heavy saucepan
• Food processor
• Small bowl
• Sieve
• Grater

Shopping List

• 1kg Red onions
• 2 Large carrots
• 2 Large sticks celery
• 100g Almonds
• 150ml White wine vinegar
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tsp Light brown sugar
• 2 Chicken stock cubes
• 12 Slices of bread
• Gruyere cheese

Suggested wine

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