In these shortest of days, how lovely is it to come in from the cold to a steaming bowl of hearty soup? This spin on a classic dish will become your favourite winter meal for a host of reasons. First, it’s delicious. Who doesn’t love French onion soup? Second, it utilizes something that you, as a hunter, are probably bringing out of the woods anyway.
Yield: 4 as an appetizer
French Onion Soup
The richness of the moose adds a wonderful depth to this dish, but you can use bison (or even beef) bones if that’s what you have on hand. While the whiskey has been listed as optional it’s high recommended. It adds a bit of sparkle to the perfect mid-winter dish.
Ingredients
10 to 15 moose (or bison) soup bones
1 carrot, roughly chopped
3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 onion, halved
1 head of garlic, halved lengthwise
1 tsp black peppercorns
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp butter
4 onions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp whiskey (optional)
2 cups cubed crusty bread
½ cup grated cheese (a combination of mozzarella and Swiss works best)
4 cups stock
Instructions
Heat oven to 450ºF, place bones in a roasting pan and cook for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Add carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and black peppercorns to the roasting pan with the bones and continue to cook until vegetable just soften, about another 10 minutes. Place the bones and vegetables in a large stock pot, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 12 hours (this would be a great use for a slow cooker) then strain the stock and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium high heat, add onions and cook stirring often until onions are soft and brown, about 20 minutes. Add sugar and continue to cook and stir until the sugar has melted, about another 4 minutes. Pour 4 cups of moose stock over the onions and bring to a simmer. Add whiskey and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Turn on your broiler. Place cubed bread in 4 small piles on a sheet pan and toast until just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and divide cheese on top of each pile of bread, place back in the oven and toast until cheese is melted and bubbling.
Divide soup between four bowls and top with cheesy bread, serve immediately.
What's Up Yukon columnist Sydney Keddy (Oland) is a recipe developer who lives in Whitehorse. Her work can be found in The Boston Globe, Seriouseats.com as well as other publications.
