Camembert Onion Soup by Avery Aames

I warned you that I was really getting into Camembert lately. Well, I've had the most delicious meals and fun!  I invited the local Southern Cal family over the other day and tried out two different dishes on them.

One you'll get next week, a Camembert Pear appetizer.



Today, I thought I'd share the Camembert Onion Mushroom soup.  I was inspired not only by my current book (coming out in a week, CLOBBERED BY CAMEMBERT) but by a soup I had in New Orleans a year ago. Remember? I made a Brie and Shrimp with Champagne soup? From Chez Paul.

I love onion soup but I don't get to eat it out at restaurants. It's loaded with gluten. But at home, it's not a problem. And I adore the aroma of onions cooking in my house. If it's not the aroma of cookies and breads, it's got to be onions.

Beautiful Maui Sweet Onions

So I modified a previous onion soup recipe I had and, instead of the typical Gruyere (which is delicious in and of itself), I added Camembert (without the rind). Scrumptious.  [No toasted bread on this soup.] The kids liked it. Little and big.

My stepson has to eat less salt, so I didn't add much to the recipe. With the addition of the cheese, it was just enough salt for him. His little ones, one- and three-years-old, wanted their own cups. I had dessert cups, handed down to me by my grandmother, that were perfect "soup" size cups for them. They drank the soup and devoured it!

Here you go.  Enjoy

CAMEMBERT ONION AND MUSHROOM SOUP

Ingredients:

2 large Maui sweet onions, sliced thinly

½ cup unsalted butter

4 cups chicken stock (gluten-free, if preferred)

salt

pepper

2 bay leaves

½ pound sliced mushrooms

1 8 oz. round of Camembert

Directions:

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.  Add the onions and coat well with the butter. Cover and cook until tender, about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the cover and raise the heat a bit. Sauté stirring often. Do not let the onions burn. They will turn a deep caramel brown, about 30 minutes to one hour.

Add the mushrooms and stir them with the buttery onions for about 2 minutes.

Grilling onions, yum!

Add the stock and bay leaves, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover.  Simmer for about 15-30 minutes more.

Meanwhile, trim the bloom rind off the Camembert and dice the cheese into little bits. Divide the cheese into four portions.

Discard the bay leaves. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper to your liking. 

Ladle the soup into bowls and add cheese.  It melts instantly!

Love that first simmering.

Serve with crusty bread or crackers.

You can omit the mushrooms, but I adore them.

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Cute cheese platter!

BY THE WAY, I'm having a fun SWEEPSTAKE CONTEST with author Kate Carlisle. It's via Facebook. Here's the link. SWEEPSTAKES  It runs until Feb. 1. You can win both of our books as well as a Bibliophile Mug and a cute cheese platter.

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You can learn more about me, Avery, by clicking this link.

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And watch for CLOBBERED BY CAMEMBERT, coming out February 2012.

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