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Sometime in the '90's, we established the Christmas Eve tradition of crockpot clam chowder, cornbread, salad, and cookies for dinner. It worked as something that was easy to prep during the day, finish after (or between) the Christmas Eve church service(s). Outside of out usual diet, so it felt special.
John's mom also makes clam chowder on Christmas Eve, at least some of the time, so it seemed like a reasonable idea to keep that tradition going as we establish the next generation of traditions.
Except I didn't really want to make a meat focused tradition? Even seafood! While no one in our household is vegetarian at the moment, it is not a stretch to imagine hosting friends or family who are. (Even though right now, our local friends are pescatarians. Though we do have some fish allergies in the social circle...)
Tonight we tested a French Onion Soup, and I think it might just work. If we could manage it on a day with morning and evening services, with a toddler who is off his normal sleep schedule, and a quick visit from a friend between church and dinner, it gives me hope that it will be possible to continue in years where we're running around to other Christmas Eve commitments and visits.
Like the clam chowder, it's a dish that feels out of our usual routine. Despite being a straightforward recipe, I think it's likely to stay that way; it's not the filling meal of a soup that we usually turn to. If I order French Onion Soup at a restaurant, it's likely to be a starter or a side. Tonight's salad was heavy on chickpeas, and incorporating that level of protein elsewhere in the meal makes sense. It's a lighter meal that leaves plenty of space for chocolate cakes or cookies or other desserts. Which seems fitting for the occasion.
Tonight's recipe does not need to be the definitive tradition! But writing it down now gives us a place to keep notes on what has been done.
Vegetarian French Onion Soup for the Slow Cooker
Adapted mostly from Southern Living, Food 52, and Simply Recipes.
- 2 to 3 pounds of Sweet Onions, thinly sliced
- 1.5 teaspoons sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 0.5 teaspoons black pepper
- 0.25 cup melted butter
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 quart vegetable scrap stock
- Bit of white wine
- 1 Tablespoon molasses
- 1 smashed garlic clove
- 10 shakes of dried thyme
- Stale sourdough for gluten eaters. Toasted gluten free bread for those with allergies.
- Gruyere cheese
Last night, I sliced the onions and put them in the crock with the sugar, salt, and black pepper. Left them in the refrigerator overnight (it was strongly scented when I opened it this morning). This morning I pulled them out, put the insert in the electric pot itself, and stirred in the melted butter, tossed in the bay leaf. Turned the whole contraption on high and went about the day. The onions released their juices and changed color over the course of the day. I stirred them around lunch time and again before we left for the afternoon Mass.*
When we got home in the evening, I microwaved the stock.** While the stock was warming, I drizzled in a bit of white wine (we don't have sherry vinegar, and do have a bottle in the fridge that gets cooked with). Once that was incorporated (and had a bit of time to cook off the alcohol), I added a spoonful of molasses and the smashed garlic clove. When the stock was warmed, I poured it into the pot and added in 10 shakes of the dried thyme.
Ideally this would all reach a simmer and the flavors would meld over the course of, checks the reference recipes, a half hour or so. Realistically, I preheated the oven, grated the cheese, and pulled together a salad and then rushed to get food to the very hungry toddler.
Ladled soup into ramekins on a cookie tray. Topped with the appropriate breads (different colors of ramekin for the different types of bread). Added a generous amount of cheese to each. Set the broiler to low and slid the whole thing into the oven. A few minutes later, pulled it out, and served.
* One possible change to consider is doing the onions on low overnight instead of high during the day. I'm curious if that would get them to a deeper caramelization than they reached today. Could also let the lid be ajar a bit more frequently during the day.
** Two notes on the stock. First, most recipes call for more than what I used, but it was what we had on hand. Second, if the week before has an inkling of cooking with dried mushrooms, I would totally upgrade to mushroom stock.
