Jared Eats World

French Onion Soup… Secret Recipe!

6 large red or yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced.

2 Tbsp Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced (or a lot more if you like garlic)
4 cups of chicken stock
4 cups of beef stock
1 cup dry white wine for the soup plus 1 -2 cups of wine of your choice in your glass or just drink from the bottle, I don’t judge.
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme
Salt and pepper
8 slices of toasted French bread
1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere with a little grated Parmesan cheese

METHOD
1 In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium heat until well browned (Not BURNED!) about 30-40 minutes (Maybe longer..). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.

2 Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, vermouth or wine, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

3 To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprinkle with cheese. Put under the broiler for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

Enjoy! And don’t worry about smelling like onions for the next couple of days, no one will notice.

Fava Beans…. 70% work, 100% amazing. Fava Beans are my favorite beans to eat. They are ready to pick in late Spring, and grow in bundles. You can normally get Fava Beans at the Farmers Market for about $1.00 a pound.

* Fresh fava beans, in the pod
* Pancetta
* Unsalted butter
* Olive oil
* Garlic Cloves – Minced
* 1 small Yellow Onion diced
* White Wine
* Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. First, shell the beans from the fava pods. Grab the hard end of
the pod, break it, and run the sting down the back of the pod. This
should allow you to open the pod up very easily. Scoop out the beans.

2. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil, then add salt – I
like a little more than usual. Almost like seawater. You’re going to
throw it away anyway, so you might as well flavor the beans.

3. Add the shelled beans to the boiling water and let cook for about
2 minutes, then remove from saucepan and strain. Run cold water over
them to immediately stop the cooking.

4. Once cooled, peel the outer skin off the fava’s. You should be
able to squeeze them out from one end… once the other end is cut.

5. (If you wish for your dish to be vegetarian – DON’T DO THIS STEP)
Cut the pancetta into strips and put into a skillet. Cook on Medium -
Medium High until the fat has rendered off, and the pancetta is a crisp
brown. Almost like bacon.

6. Remove pancetta from the pan and let cool. Keep some of the fat
from the pancetta in the pan. Use it for flavor.

7. In same pan that you used for the pancetta – Over medium heat,
add your butter and olive oil.

8. Then add the onions and Sauté for until translucent.

9. Add 1/2 cup of dry-white wine and reduce to half. At this point
you should have a thick “sauce” in the pan.

10. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute with the onions. Make sure
the heat in your pan is not too hot. You don’t want to burn the
garlic. If the garlic turns brown, start over. Once the garlic is brown,
it turns bitter and can ruin your entire dish.

10. Add the peeled fava beans and sauté for about 5 to 7 minutes, or
until they are done to your preference.

11. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, serve, and
enjoy!

12. This step is optional – After cooking and mixing all the
ingredients together. Sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese. <—- That’s the
way my grandma made them!

Spring brings an abundance of vegetables into my house. One of my  favorites this time of year, are peas right from the garden. I’m not  talking about soggy or sodium laden peas from the can… I’m talking  about bright, crisp, clean, and sweet peas right from the pod itself.

The following recipe is simple, easy, and perfect. Just like the pea itself. ENJOY!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Fresh Peas
1 Tablespoon of GOOD Olive Oil
1-2 Chopped Garlic Cloves
1/8 cup of Pecorino Romano Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by cleaning the peas directly from the pod. Do not use canned peas, and if you have to use frozen peas… and I mean you have no other choice, then the cooking time will be a little less.

Boil a pot of water, enough to hold the peas. Once the water reaches a boil, put in a pinch of salt to flavor the water.

Add the peas.

IMPORTANT. Do not over-cook them! They only need 30 – 45 seconds in a pot of boiling water. 1 minute maximum. You want them to cook, but still be Al Dente. When you bite into them, you want to hear them “snap”.

Once the peas are cooked, drain them. Add the olive oil, garlic, Pecorino Romano, salt and pepper to taste. The Pecorino Cheese is salty on its own, so be careful on how much salt you add.

Serve warm!