Appears in
Cooking One on One

By John Ash

Published 2004

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One of my favorite writers on food (and if you don’t know about her, immediately go out and get anything of hers you can lay your hands on!) is M. F. K. Fisher. In her little book A Cordiall Water, which explored odd and old “receipts” that cured ills, she described two simple soups that had been prescribed to her for both colds and hangovers. She noted that these “. . . soups are in the main delicious, and like anything potable which is even directly connected with the cure of our universal malady, they are most efficacious when drunk in a warm bed.” The first was A Delicate Onion Soup: “Peel and very thinly slice one large mild onion, put it in a pan where 1 tablespoon butter will wilt it without browning. Add 1 cup hot milk and strain. Serve at once in a bowl or cup.” The second, A Robust Onion Soup: “Slice one large peeled onion and brown it in 1 tablespoon butter. Add 1 cup strong broth and simmer until the onion is soft. Serve unstrained.” What could be simpler!