Carabaccia (Tuscan Onion Soup)
Carabaccia is a sweet and savoury Tuscan onion soup that dates back to the Renaissance. Made with slow-cooked red onions and white wine this rich tasting soup is really easy to make and packed with flavour, perfect served with a cheesy slice of toasted bread!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 256kcal
Ingredients
- 2 lbs red onions (1kg)
- 1 cup dry white wine (240ml)
- 4 cups vegetable stock (1 litre)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small pinch cinnamon (around 1//4 tsp)
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel and cut the ends off of the onions (2 lbs/1 Kg) and slice them in half. Finely slice the onions as thin as you can, I like to use a food processor with a slicing attachment to make it quick and easy.
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pot. Add the onions and stir to coat in the oil, add a pinch of salt and cook the onion very slowly on a medium/low heat until really soft and breaking apart. This will take 40-45 minutes, make sure the onions don’t brown at all (see the tips below).
- After cooking the onions add the vinegar (1 Tbsp), wine (1 cup/240ml), pinch of cinnamon and black pepper (½ tsp). Let it simmer until the wine has reduced by half.
- Add the vegetable stock (4 cups/1 litre) and bay leaf and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Serve with a slice of toasted or grilled bread topped with melted parmesan.
Video
Notes
- Serving suggestion - In Tuscany a toasted slice of bread is placed at the bottom of the bowl before adding the soup. You can do it this way or serve it topped with toasted bread with melted Parmigiano Reggiano on top (my fav).
- Texture - if you'd like to thicken the soup you can stir in a cornstarch (cornflour) slurry made from 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 2 tablespoon water. Bring the soup back to a simmer until thickened slightly.
- Using store-bought stock - if you're using storebought stock make sure to use good quality stock that's also low sodium so you can control the amount of salt added.
- Leftovers & freezing - leftovers will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 954mg | Potassium: 452mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 557IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 223mg | Iron: 2mg