About the Recipe
This soup is a combination of two classic coooking traditions - French and Japanese. A well made French onion soup or Japanese miso soup is a treat in itself but combine the two and you get something truly delicious, especially if, like me, you are a devotee of umami flavours.
Ingredients
25g / 1oz butter
500ml /1 pt water
2 rice cakes
75g / 3oz cheddar cheese
1 large brown onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp Japanese instant dashi stock granules
1 heaped tbsp of miso
shichimi (Japanese chilli flakes) , optional
Preparation
Peel, top and tail the onion. Set the onion on it side and cut into thin slices to create onion rings. Carefully break up the onion rings into a bowl.
Crush the garlic cloves and add to the onion rings.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the onion rings and the crushed garlic. Stir gently to coat the onions and garlic in butter. Sweat the onions over a medium heat with a lid on for about 20 minutes until the onion has softened. Stir occasionally to prevent any of the onion burning or sticking to the pan.
Meanwhile, cut the cheddar cheese into straws. Cover the rice cakes evenly with the cheese.
When the 20 minutes is up, add the water and Japanese instant dashi granules to the saucepan of onion rings and garlic. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 - 3 minutes.
Next , grill the rice cakes for 3 - 4 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Meanwhile, add 1 heaped tbsp of miso to the soup. Gently blend the miso into the soup using a spoon or spatula. Simmer for
1 - 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.
Remove the rice cakes from the grill.
Ladle the onion soup into bowls. Place a grilled cheese rice cake on top of each bowl and sprinkle with a little shichimi seasoning.