In this post, I spend a few moments talking soup, not only about my favorite recipes, but also about essential pieces of gear (peelers, storage containers, immersion blenders), books, and techniques I rely on all soup-season long. // alexandracooks.com

On Monday, I made a big batch of lentil soup, which I lived on all week. Yesterday, when it ran out, I almost made another pot — it’s so darn easy — when I remembered a soup my friend Margaret Roach had encouraged me to try: David Lebovitz’s French Onion Soup from his book My Paris Kitchen, which Margaret had successfully made with vegetable stock.

Friends, I made it last night, and it was oh, so very good. Several years ago, I wrote about a no-stock onion soup, which takes forever to cook, but which I loved for its minimal ingredient list, modest roots, and delicious flavor. This French onion soup is just as modest and delicious, and I love it even more: it calls for a third of the amount of onions, which means less chopping (and crying!), about half the overall cooking time, and it, too, works beautifully without stock — I replaced the two quarts of chicken stock with water.

Like the no-stock onions soup, the broth, which includes Sherry and a splash of vinegar, is delicious on its own — Margaret skips the cheese float, in fact, serving it instead with a light grating of parmesan — but I couldn’t resist toasting a few slices of peasant bread, mounding them with grated Gruyère, and sliding the bowls under the broiler for a few minutes. Piping hot soup + bread + cheese — is there anything better?

Last week, Margaret and I spent a few moments talking soup, not only about our favorite recipes, but also about essential pieces of gear (peelers, storage containers, immersion blenders), books, and techniques we rely on all soup-season long. Head over to Away to Garden to listen to the podcast, to get David Lebovitz’s recipe for French Onion Soup, and for a chance to win a copy of Bread Toast Crumbs. Below I’ve included links to favorite recipes/products.

Happy Cooking, Everyone!

All The Soup Recipes → Right Here

The essentials from left to right: homemade chicken stock, homemade vegetable stock, quart containers for storing and gifting stock and soup

Kuhn Rikon peeler, bench scraper, immersion blender.

Amanda Hesser’s Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Cider, Roasted Tomato and Bread Soup, Skinny Taste’s Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Apple soup:

Vermont Cheddar Cheese and Beer Soup (a family fave), White Bean, Escarole and Sausage Soup, Paul Steindler’s Cabbage Soup:

Deborah Madison’s Curried Coconut and Corn Soup, Sally Schneider’s Cauliflower and Apple Soup, Favorite Lentil Soup:

Parsnip and Pear Soup from the I Love New York cookbook, Michael Ruhlman’s No-Stock French Onion Soup, Pantry Tomato Soup

Marcella Hazan’s Stewy White Beans, Slow-Cooker Gigante Beans, Rosemary-Butternut Squash Soup:

Curried Chickpea and Red Lentil Soup, Weeknight Chili, Curried Lentils with Coconut Milk:

David Tanis’s Save Your Life Garlic Soup, made with water, sage, garlic, olive oil, and scallions: recipe here:

To look forward to next year: Cucumber and Green Grape Gazpacho from Bread Toast Crumbs, Watermelon Gazpacho, Samin Nosrat’s Five-Ingredient Corn Soup with Herb Salsa