Dragon’s Crown: Onion Soup

I’ve received a letter requesting my expertise in dungeon delving. Seems this client is interested in the legendary relic called the Dragon’s Crown. Rannie seems really excited about the job, more so than usual. He keeps talking about this being the adventure to make us heroes sung about though all the taverns of the kingdom of Hydeland. It’ll be rough with just the two of us but I’m sure others have been contacted. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go to the town and talk to this organization. The sun is beginning to set. You call to Rannie and tell him to set camp up for the evening. The two of you are going to need a good meal and rest before this adventure for the Dragon’s Crown begins.

When Dragon’s Crown was announced, it didn’t really interest me. The art style stood out, but it was probably the only thing that caught my attention. Eventually, my husband decided he wanted to play the game. He was looking for something to play on the Vita when Dragon’s Crown was one of the free games for Playstation Plus members. We decided to pick up a year of Playstation plus and have since kept our account active. I finally gave the game a chance and found it to be quite enjoyable. I liked that I could pick up the game, play a quick level and then be done with it pretty quickly.

All of the art in the game is very beautifully drawn and that includes the food your characters eat while resting at camp. For some time now I’ve wanted to do a recipe from this game because the images make me hungry just looking at them. After a bit of scribbling notes and ideas I knew it was time to finally strike. This week we will be filling our bellies up with onion soup. Based on the image I decided to go with a French onion soup. After a bit of research I noticed most French onion soups use a beef broth as the base. I wanted to keep this soup vegetarian friendly, so rather than a beef broth I created a mushroom broth. You can make the broth several days in advance to reduce the workload needed for the day you make the soup. Once you are ready to start making the soup, I recommend giving yourself at least three hours to let it cook. The steps are pretty easy but the cook time is long.

Recipe Inspired by The Kitchn
Required Equipment: deep pot, mesh strainer, bowl, baking sheet
Results: 4-6 bowls of soup
Ingredients:
Mushroom Broth
olive oil
1 carrot
2 leek
2 celery stalks
5 garlic cloves
2 pounds white mushroom
3 portobello mushroom
5 dried shiitake mushroom
1 tbsp whole black pepper
2 bay leaves
14 cups water

Onion Soup
3 lbs onion, cut in quarters and then cut into thick slices
4 tbsp butter
salt
pepper
1 tsp sugar
4 tbsp flour
½ cup dry white wine

french bread
olive oil
gruyere cheese

Place a deep pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil in the pot. Add the celery, carrots, leek and garlic. Mix the vegetables to coat in the oil and cook until they begin to soften. Add the white mushrooms and portobello mushroom and cook until the mushrooms begin to release moisture.

Add the water, shiitake mushrooms, whole black pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Let it simmer for at least one hour. Strain the broth through a mesh strainer into a large bowl. The broth can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.

When you are ready to make the soup, place a deep pot on the stove over medium-low heat. Add the butter. Once the butter has melted add the onions and stir to coat in the butter. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove the lid and season with salt, pepper and sugar. Turn up the heat to medium. Let the onion cook for about 45 minutes to an hour. It is very important that you keep the heat that low. You want the onions to slowly caramelize and not burn. Make sure to keep an eye on it. If it starts to burn, reduce your heat.

If you made your broth ahead of time, take a moment to start warming it up. When the onions have reached a nice brown caramelization add the flour and stir for about 2 minutes. Add the dry white wine and increase the heat to medium-high. Allow the wine to reduce slightly. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the soup to simmer for an hour to an hour and half.

Just before your soup is ready, preheat your oven to 450℉. Brush a few pieces of sliced french bread with olive oil. Place on a tray in the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Add the gyuere cheese and bake for another minute or until the cheese melts. Pour the soup in a bowl and serve with the cheesy bread inside the soup.