Vidalia Onion Soup with Wild Rice

• 1/2 cup wild rice, uncooked
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 pounds (about 4) Vidalia onions, or other sweet onions, quartered and very thinly sliced
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• Herb bundle (see Note)
• Salt and pepper
• 8 slices baguette
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces Maytag or other young, not too sharp, blue cheese, at room temperature

Note: This soup calls for an herb bundle that’s roughly 3/4 cup of your favorite fresh herbs, chopped. (He calls for 3 tablespoons chopped chives, basil, flat-leaf parsley and 4 tablespoons chopped tarragon, though I don’t think you need to be overly rigid in adhering to a formula.)

Cook the wild rice in a small saucepan according to package directions.

Melt the butter in the bottom of a 4- to 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and season the onions with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook onions, stirring frequently, for another 15 to 25 minutes, until they are tender, limp and sweet. Add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Wrap the herbs (see Note up top) in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen string. Trotter suggests you drop the bundle into the broth for one minute, then remove it, but after going through such an effort to make one, I decided to leave mine in a little longer; it made me feel better. Adjust seasonings with additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush both sides of the baguette slices with oil. Bake on a baking sheet until light golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. While the croutons are still warm, spread them with cheese.

To serve, divide the rice among four bowls, and ladle broth and onions on top. Float two croutons in the center of each bowl, and sprinkle with more pepper. Eat immediately.

Serves 4.

VERDICT: I took some liberties.  Instead of chopping herbs, tying them up and floating the bundle for ONE MINUTE, I grabbed a bunch of un-chopped chives, tarragon, and flat-leaf parsley with tongs and floated them in the soup for a few minutes.  I also added chopped tarragon, parsley, and chives to the soup and left them there, which was pretty and delicious.  I also somehow neglected to buy either baguette or cheese, so there were no croutons.  But, it was still good--slightly sweet, with a really nice note of tarragon.  It's relatively cheap to make, especially if you have millions of chives in the garden.  Keep.