When I'm sick, I crave a few things: comfort, nourishment, and strong flavours to treat my runny nose and sore throat. I set out to make a soup with potent ingredients to relieve my symptoms which also would require little prep time and ingredients I had available in the kitchen. This soup was inspired by the cold-fighting qualities of garlic and ginger, combined with the more subtle and sweet flavour of French onion soup. I decided to combine the onion technique from that recipe with the Provencal cure-all dish, garlic soup with eggs. The ginger was then added for kicks, literally.
I looked to Julie Powell's (of Julie and Julia) garlic soup recipe, since she had already taken Julia Child's version and simplified it with the substitution of dried herbs – a necessary step for the sick person who may not have fresh herbs on hand, and certainly isn't going grocery shopping at this point. Adding sweet caramelized onions to the soup made the broth darker and more robust, perfect for holding up to the addition of spicy fresh ginger.
Together, these flavours are comforting and invigorating, designed to wake up your sinuses. I stood over the simmering pot, inhaling the fragrant steam wafting up from the broth and breathed a sigh of relief as the smells cleared my muddled senses. The poached egg adds a silky texture as well as much-needed sustenance, and you could make a full meal out of this soup with the addition of crusty baguette or even plain toast. Belly filled and nose cleared, you can crawl back under the covers and get some much-needed rest.
Caramelized Onion, Garlic and Ginger Soup with Poached Eggs
Yield: 6 first course servings or 4 meal-size servings
4 large yellow onions, peeled, halved and sliced into 1cm or quarter-inch thick slices
2 tbsp olive oil
7½ cups (1.8L) chicken or vegetable broth
half a head of garlic, separated into cloves, peeled and sliced
1cm or ½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp dried sage
1/8 tsp dried rosemary
1½ tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
4-6 eggs, as needed
1 stalk green onion, white and light green parts only, sliced thinly, for garnish
In a large saucepot or dutch oven, cook the sliced onions in the olive oil over medium heat. When the onions start sizzling and shrinking in size, reduce the heat to low and stir occasionally. The onions will slowly caramelize, approximately 20 minutes.
Once the onions have turned soft and golden brown, deglaze the pot by increasing the heat to medium, adding ½ cup of chicken broth and stirring with a wooden spoon, scraping up any burned onion bits that have stuck to the bottom and sides of the pot. Once the broth has simmered, add the garlic, ginger, bay leaf, parsley, thyme, sage and rosemary to the pot. Stir in the remaining 7 cups of broth. Turn the heat up to high. When the broth begins to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
Place a fine-meshed strainer over a large heatproof bowl. Pour the contents of the pot through the strainer. With a wooden spoon, press against the onion, garlic and ginger mixture in the strainer to release as much flavourful liquid as possible.
For each serving, prepare a poached egg: ladle broth into a small skillet until the liquid comes about 1 inch up the sides. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer and poach an egg for about 2 minutes, until the white is cooked through but the yolk is still soft. With a slotted spoon, remove the cooked egg from the skillet and transfer to a soup bowl. Repeat for amount of eggs needed. To serve, pour additional broth over the egg and sprinkle a small amount of green onion over top.
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