French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup with Lamb Broth and Blue Cheese
This onion soup is a definite talking point. The subtle flavors of garlic, rosemary, and thyme are countered with the rich tasting Madeira wine and blue cheese. If you like your French onion soup cheese to make a statement, you will find that the mouthwateringly creamy blue cheese is the perfect addition to this richly flavored French onion soup.
Lamb has an unmistakable flavor and rosemary and garlic are used in a lot of roast lamb recipes, which is why they are so great in this lamb broth French onion soup recipe. Lamb is rich and satisfying but in a very different way than beef. A lot of people consider lamb one of their favorite meats, so it is great to make French onion soup with, because French onion soup is as dearly loved as lamb is.
If you like to experiment with food, you will find that the following French onion soup recipe is really creative and combines foods, which you might not have considered putting together before. This French onion soup recipe is great for supper, rather than an appetizer, because it is rich, meaty, and very filling.
Blue Cheese and Rosemary Onion Soup in Lamb Broth
Ingredients -
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
6 onions, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups lamb broth
½ cup Madeira wine or medium dry sherry
2 ½ cups crumbled blue cheese
4 thick slices toasted, crusty bread
Preparation:
Heat a pot over a medium heat and add the oil and butter.
Add the onions, and then season with the rosemary, half the thyme and some salt and pepper.
Cook the onions for about 20 minutes, stirring them often, or until they are golden brown and tender.
Add the Madeira wine or medium dry sherry to the pot, scraping at the stuck on bits on the bottom with a wooden spoon.
Add the bay leaf, garlic powder and the lamb broth.
Cover the pan and bring the French onion soup to a boil.
Arrange 4 deep soup bowls on a cookie sheet and preheat the broiler to high.
When the soup reaches the boil, ladle it into the bowls and float the bread on top.
Cover each piece of bread with some blue cheese and sprinkle the rest of the thyme over the top.
Broil until the cheese melts.
(Serves 4)
Types of Blue Cheese
You can divide blue cheese into two categories - hard blue cheese and soft blue cheese. Examples of hard blue cheese include Danish blue and German blue. Hard blue cheeses are salty and crumbly. Soft blue cheeses include Roquefort, Gorgonzola, and Stilton. Soft blue cheese is creamy, full flavored and mellow. When making a French onion soup recipe, it is best to use a hard, salty blue cheese, because lamb broth has a strong flavor and therefore needs a strong cheese to stand up to it. Soft blue cheese would lose a lot of flavor when served with the strong tasting lamb broth French onion soup recipe.
The History of Blue Cheese
Blue cheese is an acquired taste and not everyone enjoys the strong, pungent flavor the first time they taste it. Gorgonzola is one of the oldest blue cheeses and it is thought to have been made in 879 AD, although the fungus, which is injected to cause the blue veins, is believed not to have featured in the original Gorgonzola recipe. The blue color in blue cheese is caused by a fungus injected into the cheese. Roquefort was invented in 1070AD. Blue cheese features in many modern recipes.
Lamb and Blue Cheese - A Divine Combination
Because of the strength of flavor in blue cheese, it suits strong meats like beef, lamb, and game. You would not use blue cheese as a French onion soup topping if you were using chicken broth, for example, because a chicken broth French onion soup requires a delicate cheese. A blue cheese would be way too bold to suit this gentle broth. Perhaps you have eaten a steak in blue cheese sauce. Lamb has similar requirements.