This is a really good, but rather expensive, soup because the Taleggio cheese used in the recipe is about $18 a pound. Yeah, that’s kind of a lot, but it’s really worth it. If you’re making this for 2-4 people, you could split the recipe in half. The full recipe supposedly serves 8-10, which is a high estimate in my opinion.
Anyway, this is quite an easy recipe to make, and the result is quite rich and flalvorful. The thing to know about Taleggio cheese is that it kind of stinks at room temperature, but wow, does it melt in to a velvety consistency with a great mouth-feel.
Be sure to use the thin, cracker-like breadsticks for this recipe, which is provided by our friends (not really) at Saveur magazine. I’ve been put off by the magazine over the years due to too many of its recipes not working properly. I sometimes wonder if they actually test them. Regardless, this one works well.
What you’ll need:
- 3.5 cups beef, chicken or vegetable stock
- 5T unsalted butter
- 10 oz. Italian breads
- 1 lb Taleggio cheese, sliced
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 0.5 small onion, thinly sliced
What to do:
Bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan, then remove from heat.
Grease the bottom of a 3-qt. high-sided saucepan with 1T butter. Break the breadsticks into 2.5-inch pieces. Put a layer of breadsticks in the saucepan, then cover the breadsticks with a layer of cheese. Continue layering breadsticks and cheese until you run out, then carefully ladle the stock over the layers one ladleful at a time. Heat the saucepan over low heat, then raise the temperature and bring it to a simmer. Cook at a low simmer for 30 minutes, without stirring.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a frypan over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook them for about 10 minutes, until soft. Put a fine-mesh sieve over a small bowl and strain the butter through the sieve. Press the onions to get any remaining butter out of them. Now you basically have 4T of onion butter. Discard the onions or use them for something else.
When the soup is 30 minutes into cooking, drizzle the butter over the top and cook for 10 more minutes.
Serve hot, either as an appetizer or a side dish.
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