Licurdia (Calabrian Onion Soup)

Licurdia soup in a bowl topped with bread and melted cheese.

5 from 1 vote

Licurdia is an Italian recipe made with onions, potatoes, and stock, then broiled with stale bread and cheese, usually caciocavallo or scamorzza, although we used an aged asiago.

Prep Time15

Cook Time55

Total Time1 10

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 417kcal

Author: Vincent DelGiudice

Cost: $10

Equipment

1 Large Dutch Oven
6 oven-safe bowls for serving

Ingredients

3 lbs sweet onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon lard use olive oil as a substitute
½ lb gold potatoes, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon calabrian chili peppers in oil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
5 cups chicken stock (low sodium)
½ loaf italian bread or baguette
1 cup Asiago cheese, grated

Instructions

Prepare your onions by thinly slicing them into ¼-inch slices. This allows them to soften quickly but not completely become mush in the soup. Wash, peel, and grate your potatoes. Then use a cheesecloth to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Removing the liquid helps the onions and potatoes caramelize rather than steam.
In a large dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoon of lard or olive oil over medium-low heat. Once melted, stir in the onions and ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté on medium-low heat, covered to sweat and soften the onions for 15 minutes. The onions should be soft and have noticeably less volume, but they should not be brown.
Raise the heat to medium and season with ½ teaspoon salt, fennel seed, and Calabrian chili peppers until the fennel is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then stir in the potatoes.
Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir until there is no remaining dry flour. Then sauté the onions and potatoes for 15-20 minutes, until the onions begin to caramelize. Occasionally scrape the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking.
Pour in the chicken stock and raise the heat to medium-high. Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any brown bits. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Turn the oven broiler on. Ladle the desired serving into oven-safe bowls. Place the bowls on a sheet pan. Float a slice of Italian bread or baguette on the soup. Top the bread with the Asiago cheese and place in the oven, 6 inches below the broiler, for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and turning golden brown. Carefully remove from the oven and allow the bowls to cool before serving.

Video

Notes

Remove as much water from the potatoes after grating. Potatoes are filled with water, so removing as much as you can helps them brown and not become mushy.
Slice the onions to ¼-inch so that they will still hold their shape and not turn into mush.
Use lard if you want a more pork-forward flavor and olive oil for a lighter flavor with less depth.
Stir often once you add the potatoes so that the onions and the potatoes don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Watch the cheese under the broiler. It can burn quickly. Whenever I use the broiler, I keep the oven door cracked so I can keep an eye.

Nutrition