Re-Inventing the Onion
One odd thing about belonging to a farm share, or a "veggie scheme," is that sometimes you end up with a surplus of a seasonal item that you cannot seem to eat quickly enough.
I've had a couple of "red cabbage tantrums" that won't soon be forgotten.
This summer, the bountiful crop in my refrigerator has been the onion. I've amassed purplette cocktail onions, gold cippolines, blanco di maggio, Italian roasting onions, scallions, leeks, and Stockton Reds. They are more than a simple martini and tomato sandwich could tear through.
I decided to make onion soup, and destroy three or four pounds of alliums in one giant chop.
But I couldn't remember how to make the classic French recipe, and when I looked it up, it all seemed like such a bother... straining out all the herbs, the toast and melted cheese, the perfect beef broth, blah blah. Plus, I didn't even have many of the essential ingredients they asked for, like beef broth, parsley, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I l…