A French classic revisited.
You know that caramelized onion soup that we eat mostly in the fall or winter because it’s hearty and filling. Well, here it is a different take made with a mixture of hot spices called “Hawaij” and chickpeas.
Thanks to this blend of spices, this multi-flavored soup gives it different layers of appreciation.
Hawaij
Hawaij is a ground spice blend from Yemen. It is mostly used in soups and coffee. The main spices composing the soup are cumin, cardamom, black pepper and turmeric. Many more elaborate variations exist and in which can be added cloves, coriander, fenugreek, caraway and nutmeg, just to name a few.
For coffee, anise, fennel, ginger and cardamom are used instead.
These spices, mixed with caramelized onions give a delicious depth to this soup. Obviously, you have to take the time to melt and brown the onions!
Patience
Indeed, you will need a little patience to obtain a perfect caramelization of your onions. As with the classic version, this one requires you to slowly melt the onions until they brown and reveal their natural sugar. You have to be careful, to mix them almost all the time so that they do not stick to the bottom nor burn. This is the secret to a good onion soup. To these, we add this blend of spices from Yemen, broth and chickpeas.
Obviously, the dry toasted bread that is buttered and topped with melted cheese is just as exquisite with this onion soup version.
Yemeni take on French Onion Soup
For 4 to 6 people, you need …
- 75ml olive oil
- 1.2kg onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
- 250g tomato passata
- 30g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 240g chickpeas, cooked and drained
- 1.5 litre vegetable stock
- Salt and black pepper
Yemenis Spice Mix
- 15ml coriander seeds
- 10ml cumin seeds
- 2 whole cloves
- 8 cardamom pods, seeds removed and shells discarded
- 3ml fenugreek seeds
- 3ml tsp ground turmeric
—
- Put the oil in a large, cast-iron saucepan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions, stir to coat them in the fat, then turn the heat to medium and cook gently for an hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until completely soft and golden.
- Meanwhile, make the spice mix. Put the coriander and cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom and fenugreek in a small frying pan on a medium-high heat. Toast, shaking the pan frequently, for five to six minutes, until fragrant, then tip into a spice grinder and blitz to a powder. Stir in the turmeric and set aside.
- When the onions are done, turn up the heat to medium-high, add the spice mix, passata and fresh coriander, and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes. Add the chickpeas, stock, one and three-quarter teaspoons of salt and a very generous amount of pepper, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat back down to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
- Serve immediately with or without grilled bread with melted cheese.
In health,
Chantal

Un classique français revisité.
Tu sais cette soupe aux oignons caramélisés que l’on mange surtout en automne ou en hiver parce qu’elle est consistante et remplissante. Et bien, la voici revisité avec un mélange d’épices échauffantes nommé “Hawaij” et des pois chiches.
Grâce à ce mélange d’épices, cette soupe aux multiples saveurs lui confère différentes couches d’appréciation.
Hawaij
Hawaij est un mélange d’épices moulue venant du Yémen. Là-bas, il est surtout utilisé dans les soupes et le café. Les principales épices composant se mélange pour la soupe sont le cumin, la cardamome, le poivre noir et le curcuma. Beaucoup de variations plus élaborées que celui-ci existent et dans lesquelles peuvent venir s’ajouter le clou de girofle, la coriandre, le fenugreek, le carvi et la muscade, pour ne nommer que celles-ci.
Pour le café on utilise plutôt l’anis, le fenouil, le gingembre et la cardamome.
Ces épices, mélangé avec des oignons caramélisés donnent une profondeur délicieuse à cette soupe. Évidemment, il faut prendre le temps que les oignons fondent et brunissent.
Patience
En effet, il te faudra un peu de patience pour obtenir une caramélisation parfaite de tes oignons. Comme pour la version classique, celle-ci requiert de faire fondre tranquillement les oignons jusqu’à ce qu’ils brunissent et révèlent leurs sucre naturel. Il faut être attentif, les mélanger presque tout le temps pour ne pas qu’ils attachent au fond ni qu’ils brûlent. C’est le secret d’une soupe à l’oignon réussie.
À ces oignons parfait, on ajoute ce mélange d’épices nous venant du Yémen, du bouillon et des pois chiches. Évidemment, le pain sec grillé, beurré et gratiné est tout aussi exquis avec cette version.
Soupe à l’oignon yéménite
Pour 4 à 6 personnes, tu as besoins de…
- 75ml huile olive
- 1.2kg oignons, pelés, coupés en deux puis en lamelles
- 240g pois chiches, cuits, égouttés
- 1.5L bouillon légumes
- 250g passata
- 30g coriandre fraîche, grossièrement haché
- Sel, poivre
Mélange épices yéménites
- 15ml grains coriandre
- 10ml grains cumin
- 2 clous girofle entiers
- 8 gousses cardamome
- 3ml grains fenugreek
- 3ml curcuma moulu
—
- Mettez l’huile (ou le beurre et deux cuillères à soupe d’huile) dans une grande casserole en fonte à feu moyen-vif. Une fois chaud, ajoutez les oignons, remuez pour les enrober de gras, puis mettez le feu à moyen et faites cuire doucement pendant une heure, en remuant toutes les 10 minutes environ, jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient complètement tendres et dorés.
- Pendant ce temps, préparez le mélange d’épices. Mettez les graines de coriandre et de cumin, les clous de girofle, la cardamome et le fenugrec dans une petite poêle à feu moyen-vif. Faire griller en secouant fréquemment la poêle pendant cinq à six minutes, jusqu’à ce qu’il soit parfumé, puis verser dans un moulin à épices et réduire en poudre. Incorporer le curcuma et réserver.
- Lorsque les oignons sont cuits, augmentez le feu à moyen-vif, ajoutez le mélange d’épices, la passata et la coriandre fraîche et faites cuire, en remuant de temps en temps, pendant cinq minutes. Ajouter les pois chiches, le bouillon, une cuillère à café et trois quarts de sel et une quantité très généreuse de poivre et porter à ébullition. Baisser le feu à moyen et laisser mijoter, en remuant de temps en temps, pendant 30 minutes.
- Servir aussitôt avec ou sans pain grillé, beurré et gratiné.
Santé!
Chantal



It is as soft as you want and is suitable for small sandwiches. Very small because it is a bread without yeast. So when I want a bigger sandwich, I make one with sorghum flour for which you will find the recipe below. This one is malleable enough that I can easily shape it into whatever shape I want; baguette, small loafs, big loaf …
Spiced Beans Fresh Salad / Salade fraîche aux haricots épicés






























Since the covid19 and the different confinements, I have discovered a new hobby; walking. Either a leisurely walk or a brisk walk, I sometimes make it a simple one, sometimes a hiking one and sometimes a sporting one.
To walk mindfully or consciously is to walk while being aware of what is happening around and in us. Without thinking. It is to pay attention or to be attentive. It is to be there, present. It is to forget oneself.
See the road or path we take.
Hear the noises and sounds that surround us
Smell the odors of food, sea, flowers, herbs, grass, dearth, cold, the perfumes of people you cross path with.















Grill the eggplant slices either in a cast iron pan or in the oven. To do so, brush each side of each slice with extra virgin olive oil. Place on the hot cast iron pan and turn half a turn to make a nice grid on each side. Or, put on a baking sheet and broil in the oven. Turn as needed. Let stand and cool. Reserve.











For 2 to 8 people, you need …

I start by preparing an advent calendar with recycled stuff. Indeed, you do not need to buy anything (practical in times of confinement!) to make a calendar worthy of the name! Yes, you will use what you have at home. Some ideas with which you can make some; cardboard of toilet paper rolls, envelopes, cardboard boxes, paper, egg carton … in short, nothing complicated but above all, something that will allow you to insert little notes, coupons and small items.
If you are using toilet paper rolls, you can arrange them in the shape of a tree, glue them together, fill them and then seal them with numbered paper. If you are using envelopes, it is a matter of numbering them, filling them, sealing them and then hanging them on a pretty thread / ribbon. If you only have white paper, you take two of them and on each you separate by drawing 24 boxes.
On the sheet below, you write the surprises in each box. On the top sheet, you write down the numbers and you pre-cut each box slightly. You glue the edges of the papers together and voila. Do not hesitate to add pretty designs, color to make it “festive”.
































Place the onion strips, garlic cloves, tomato wedges and rosemary sprigs on a baking sheet. Oil generously, add the umami mix or season with salt and pepper. Mix to coat all ingredients with oil. Bake 30 min.
Sur un lit de zoodles (spaghetti de courgettes) j’ajoute un confit de tomates, oignons et ail ainsi que du fromage Feta grillé. Voilà un petit repas facile qui se mange chaud ou tiède et qui est sans gluten et végétarien.




I asked advice from a friend who has a beautiful garden and a large vegetable patch. In addition to her tips, her references in terms of the vegetable patch, she gave me vegetables seedlings, herbs and flowers to plant in my little space!














Fresh herbs: Punch of flavors
Bok choy or other green leaves
Wash and wring the leaves. Separate the white section from the leaves of the Bok Choy. Keep only the leaves. Finely chop them. Do the same with the radish tops, parsley and mint. Put all of these leaves in a large mixing bowl.
Line 3 sheets on the work surface. Lightly butter these with a brush, then put the others on top as a second and last layer.
Repeat steps 10 to 13 until the baking sheet is filled. Add a small butter brush stroke to each roll and bake for about 15 min or until they are golden.
Laver et essorer les feuilles. Séparer le tronçon blanc des feuilles du Bok Choy. Garder que les feuilles. Les hacher finement. Faire pareil avec les fanes de radis, le persil et la menthe. Mettre toutes ces feuilles dans un grand bol à mélanger.
Couper les feuilles filo en 3 sur la longueur. Conserver 6 feuilles et laisser les autres dans un torchon humide pour ne pas qu’elles sèchent et se déchirent. Tu travailles 3 ou 6 rouleaux à la fois selon ton choix de grosseur.





Zero waste in the kitchen
Zéro déchet en cuisine

And what to do with emptied orange peels and its pulp? Frosted Oranges Sorbet! If you know the commercial “creamsicle”, well, this is its French version and it tastes way better! Plus, it’s rich in fiber!



Cook the freekeh according to the directions on the package. Let cool and store in the refrigerator until needed.
