All over the world poorer communities have had to use limited resources to concoct filling, nutritious, inexpensive dishes to feed their families. Here in Britain allotments were one source of self - sustainability, my father kept an allotment for many years. However, our improved standards of living here in Britain have made us lose interest, why bother tending an allotment or vegetable patch when large supermarkets are supplying us with an abundance of cheap (albeit largely processed and unhealthy) food.
The decline of allotments and garden space is also largely due to a shortage of homes and our current housing crisis. It is estimated that the shortfall of homes in the south of England will reach 160,000 in the next five years. The biggest deficiency is in London, where 14,400 more homes are needed to meet demand. Look around you, every spare plot of England's green and pleasant land is being built on.
When I look to make an inexpensive meal I tend to think Spanish, Italian or French, to this day the people of these countries still enjoy many traditional, peasant dishes, often made with cheap and common ingredients bought at local markets. One pot meals are very popular and very economical, casseroles and soups such as cocido, lentejas, coq au vin and Italian peasant soup are still staples.
One of my favourite dishes is French onion soup (soupe a l'oignon a la Lyonnaise) whilst there is no verifiable origin for this recipe it is believed to have originated with the canuts. These labourers were the backbone of Lyons' famous silk industry, working up to 18 hours a day weaving and screening the silk that France's aristocracy so adored. The canuts were poor and had to learn how to make do with little, the onion soup and stale bread helped to sustain them throughout their long working hours.
Over the years the bourgeois classes adapted this dish to their tastes and budget. French onion soup is now associated with reveillon (a long dinner) a nocturnal family celebration meal, eaten after midnight mass which is normally a lavish and elaborate meal.
With a surplus of onions I decided to make this soup, however, I also had a small free range chicken so I decided to cook this dish in my slow cooker, the chicken created it's own stock and the flavours were delicious added to which I was free to leave it cooking on low for six hours whilst I went out.
French onion soup
Recipe
600g onions
80g butter
1 litre water
Half a bottle of white wine
3 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
1 small free range chicken
Sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
Peel and slice onions, melt butter in slow cooker or pot
Add onions and allow to lightly brown
Place chicken in pot and add liquid, add peeled garlic, season, cover and cook on low (if cooking in the oven 170c/gas 3) for 6 hours (add the fresh herbs for the last hour of cooking time)
Croutons
Recipe
Artisan bread (I used a garlic loaf)
Gruyere cheese
Toast slices of bread on both sides
Top with grated cheese and grill until the cheese has melted, set aside
Carefully remove chicken from liquid, allow to cool slightly before cutting up (it will actually fall away from the bones)
Place slices of chicken back into the pot and stir
I also added a can of white beans for the last 10 minutes of cooking time, you could also add a splash of cognac to each bowl immediately before serving, delicious!
Ladle soup into bowls and top with croutons, serve immediately
'In the state we now find ourselves, it is difficult to imagine a nation which lived solely on bread and vegetables.'
- Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin
Love Donna xxxxx
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