Southwest Onion Soup - A Classic Reimagined

And look, no net ... So this can best be described as a reinterpretation of French Onion Soup, kicked up a notch. This is a fairly time intensive preparation for something that is conceptually so simple - take your basic french onion flavor, over caramelize it, add in some wicked hot jalepeno garlic broth, and finish with beer battered jalapeno strips and avocado balls to tame the heat.

From gastronomic guesswork

The approach to the essential onion part of the dish was largely based on a great recipe for their own interpretation of the classic in the Mizuna cookbook. Thinly slice 2 large yellow onions, 2 red onions, saute until starting to brown in a little olive oil, add a couple dashes of baking soda, reduce heat and stir periodically for 2 hours until you have a deep brown color. Add water to the pan to continually deglaze. Incorporate a tablespoon or so of Oloroso Sherry, and 2 tablespoons butter. Reserve and keep warm.

For the jalepeno broth, roughly chop 6-8 jalepenos, toss in a pressure cooker with about 2 inches of water and pressure cook for 30 minutes. Relieve the pressure and remove the lid. Add 3 minced garlic cloves and reduce by half.

For the fried jalepeno strips, cut strips 1/8" wide after deseeding and removing the white veins. Prepare a batter with 1 part flour and 1 part corona beer (or something similarly light). Fry in grapeseed oil and toss with salt after draining.

Plate the onions using a small round mold in the center of the bowl, press down and remove the mold. Surround with 1/2 teaspoon avocado balls, top with the jalepeno strips and then gently pour in the jalepeno broth.

The jalepeno broth was brutal on its own, really bit you in the back of the mouth. In concert with the caramelized onions, crisp jalepeno strips, and velvety avocado, this was a very good pairing of flavors and textures. I had planned on cooking something after this, but instead just had two bowls of it.