Onions to keep away the plague
52 Weeks of Cooking, Week 37: The Decameron
This week’s theme was Viral, a fitting theme for fall, when school is back in session, and kids bring home all sorts of germs. We’ve already had one round of the crud go through our house, and I pray there isn’t another any time soon.
During one of my recent under-the-weather days, I binged-watched a Netflix show about a different virus. The Decameron, based on the 100 tales of Giovanni Boccaccio, follows the comedic antics of group of Florentine nobles and servants who decamp to a countryside villa in Tuscany to escape The Black Plague. The show was a hilarious distraction from my head cold, and it inspired me to listen to a few of the original bawdy tales (including one where a monk poses as the Angel Gabriel to sleep with a woman).
The Decameron also inspired this week’s meal, carabaccia, aka Tuscan onion soup.
Onions were said to ward off the plague, and the red onions traditionally used in this soup, Cipolla di Certaldo, are even mentioned in The Decameron. The first recipes for carabaccia appear in the 1500s, predating French onion by a couple hundred years, but the two are similar.
The recipe for carabaccia begins with two pounds of sliced red onions. Cook them down in a heavy soup pot with olive oil — you want them soft, but not caramelized (unlike in French onion soup). Adding about a cup of water and keeping the pot covered helps ensure the onions cook without turning brown.
Once the onions have cooked down, remove the pot lid to let some of the water steam off, then add about 4 cups of broth, a bay leaf, salt, pepper and sage if you have it (I did not). Let this cook for about a half-hour so the flavors meld.
While the soup is simmering, toast some bread with olive oil, shred some Parmesan and poach an egg.
Put your toasted bread in the bottom of your soup bowl. Pour the onion soup over the bread and top with shredded Parmesan and a poached egg.
The verdict? I wish it were colder out because carabaccia is sweater-weather soup. Savory broth, crispy toast, melty cheese and poached egg — a meal perfect for fall. For a heartier meal, you could also cook pasta in some of the leftover soup broth and top it with cheese.
Next week: Filipino