I've cooked my way through all 264 recipes
in The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook!

January 8, 2011

Tuscan Onion Soup (p. 123)

Tuscan Onion Soup, or Carabaccia, is pretty similar to French Onion Soup, just without the layer of crusty cheese on top (but don't worry, there's still plenty of cheese in it.)

It also only requires a few steps, which I love. It's one of those recipes you can pretty much just set on the stovetop and let it make itself. In a nice large pot, sauté chopped pancetta (I used more than necessary because I already had it in the fridge leftover from the Walnut Stuffed Roasted Onions earlier this week), carrots, and parsley in olive oil. The recipe also called for celery in this step, but I had forgotten I needed it and finished off our celery with delicious hummus in my lunch yesterday. Whoops. I just left it out.


Once the pancetta has begun to release its fat, add thinly sliced onions to the pot, cover it, and let simmer at a very low heat for about an hour. The onions shouldn't brown at all, just keep them at such a low temperature that they become super soft but shouldn't really need to be checked on throughout.

Once the onions are super soft and golden, add in a little white wine and chicken stock and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in parmesan and add salt and pepper to taste.


Serve piping hot with more parmesan cheese to top off the bowls at the table.


This was lovely on a cold wintery day (we're having snow flurries!), and tasted just like delicious French Onion Soup. I would totally make this again, it was easy and would be a great small starter before a meal.

onions -- $1.79
white wine -- $2.99 (I bought a cheap small bottle that actually provided a couple of semi-decent glasses for me to drink, as well -- bonus!)
Total Cost of Tuscan Onion Soup: $4.78
($1.59 per serving)

1 comment:

Thanks for dropping by! Love, Katrina.