Soup-Puree Of Onions, Bretonne Style

No. 1013. - Peel six large red Onions and slice them finely. Put them in a saucepan with a piece of butter, and let them cook slowly until they are nicely browned. Then add a pint of beef broth and reduce it to a glaze, after which add three quarts of broth, in which you have cooked a quarter of a pound of split peas. Season with salt and pepper, and cook it slowly for fifteen minutes. Then skim it well, rub it through a fine sieve and put it back in the saucepan to keep warm. If necessary, add a little more broth. Before serving, add a piece of butter, mix it well, and serve with it some small fried bread crumbs on a plate.

Onion Custard For Garniture Of Soups

No. 1014. - Put in an earthen bowl half a pint of puree of white Onions (soubise), for the preparation of which see No. 997. Dilute this with four spoonfuls of cream, and add two raw eggs and the yolks of ten raw eggs. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Mix the whole well together, and strain it through a fine sieve. Butter some small fancy shaped tartlet moulds and fill them with this preparation. Then place the moulds in a pan containing hot water (being careful not to let any of the water get into the moulds). Set them in a moderate oven to cook, but do not let them get browned. When they are cooked, turn them out of the moulds and let them get cold. Use them as required and directed in the Book on Soups.

Onion Soup, Garbure

No. 1015. - Cut the ends off of one dozen medium sized white Onions, peel them and slice them in pieces one-eighth of an inch thick. Put them in a flat saucepan with some clarified butter and fry them to a light brown color. Put in a deep baking dish a layer of thin slices of toasted bread and on this a layer of Onions, seasoning them with salt and pepper. Then put another layer of toast with Onions on it, continuing in this way until the dish is full. Moisten it with broth and set it in the oven to gratinate. Serve with this a soup tureen of good beef broth.

Note. - Care must be taken not to let the Onions get burnt or scorched, or they will give the garbure a bitter taste.

Pickled Onions

No. 1016. - Peel as many small white Onions as you desire to pickle, having them as equal in size as possible (when peeling them be very careful not to cut into them). Put them into a strong brine for four or five days, then drain th3em and pour cold water over them to refresh them. Then parboil them for ten minutes and immerse them in cold water, after which dry them on a towel. Pick the pieces that are likely to come off carefully from the Onions. Then put the Onions in glass jars, with a few pepper-corns and some blades of mace, and fill the bottles (so as to cover the Onions) with boiled wine or cider vinegar. When cold cork them tightly.

Note. - In boiling the vinegar add half a pound of sugar to each gallon. Pickled Onions (Another Way).

No. 1017. - Peel as many small white Onions as you desire to pickle, having them as equal in size as possible (be careful not to cut into them while peeling). Parboil them in plenty of water for five minutes, then immerse them in cold water, after which drain and dry them on a towel. Remove the pieces that are likely to come off and put the Onions in an earthen bowl. Cover them with cold boiled white wine vinegar, and on the following day drain off the vinegar and put the Onions in glass jars, with a little salt and one bay leaf in each jar. Then boil the vinegar that you drained from the Onions, skim it well, and when it is cold pour it over them, to cover, and hermetically seal the jars. Keep them in a cool place.

Onion Vinegar

No. 1018. - Peel and slice finely ten large white fresh Onions, put them in an earthen jar and add a soup-spoonful of salt and one of sugar. Boil two quarts of wine vinegar and pour it over the Onions while it is hot. Cover and set them away, and at the expiration of two weeks strain and filter the vinegar. Then pour it into bottles, adding a small sprig of tarragon to each bottle. Cork the bottles tightly and keep them in a cool place.