White Onion Velouté with Pancetta
While our graphic artist Linda Cassady brings our Holiday Gift Collection to life from her studio, we put our creative palates to work on a series of recipes exclusively for her.
Linda’s request was for “something with onions” which I could have taken in many directions. In an effort to keep it simple and elegant, showcasing the onions, I fell for the idea of an Onion Velouté. My search for the ultimate recipe began in my own library of cookbooks and then moved online.
I became frustrated at the endless recipes asking for a potato in the soup. From memory, I know that potato leaves my slow cooker soups with a grainy texture and I was looking for something velvety. The style of refined soup I expect to be served in a good restaurant, simple and rich with the concentrated flavor of the main ingredient – onion.
Julia Child to the rescue! I found her very descriptive Master recipe for a Velouté based soup in The Way To Cook and adapted it to include onions as the main flavor. The main rule here is to use the classic flour and butter roux sauce method, which the recipe below is adapted for, and stir in the broth layer to create the base for the velouté. A touch of cream isn’t entirely necessary but I think elevates it for a Thanksgiving dish.
I delivered the soup to Linda, anxious for her critique. Later that evening she declared via text “Omigosh! It was IMPECCABLE. Seriously Delicious. I can’t wait to take a stab at it and see how mine measures up. I loved it”
Incidentally, consider it a chilled soup option too. I kept stealing spoonfuls from the refrigerator.
Enjoy.
We’re pleased to announce our Zen for the holidays gift collection. The collection includes all our old favorites plus a new single limited edition Mulling Spice for the holidays. Perfect for a hostess gift with a festive ribbon to hang around a bottle or red wine.
Back in stock by popular demand is our small batch Moroccan Tagine blend. We are so happy to now be using saffron sourced from Rumi Spice. Kimberly Jung and Emily Miller, a team of US military veterans, are sourcing Saffron from Afghanistan and “cultivating peace.”
Final online holiday orders must be received by Friday, December 9th to ensure delivery. Order over $50 ship for free and we charge a flat rate of $5 per order on anything under $50.
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 cups / 1 large onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup / 1 small leek, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 oz pancetta cubes, fried until crisp
- heat the oil in a skillet over a medium heat and add onions and leek
- cooking gently for 6 minutes, without coloring
- alternatively, put butter, onions & leeks into a microwaveable dish and heat on high for 2 minutes
- transfer onion mixture to the slow cooker
- stir in the flour
- stir in the broth and make sure that it is absorbed into the flour
- add the thyme sprigs
- cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 3 hours
- pureé with an immersion blender until smooth and stir in the cream
- serve with the pancetta cubes and chives *optional
