Souper Tuesday: Leek, onion, Zamalek and Obies soup with a Parmesan crouton

Daily Maverick

08-07-2025

When I slid my spoon into this soup and savoured it, I could taste the leeks, onions, cheese and beer, and that touch of sweetness from the sherry. This soup, like many dishes worth making and eating, is all about that balance.
Leeks, onions, Zamalek, Parmesan cheese and thyme – oh, and Old Brown Sherry – combine to create an intriguing and wholesome soup that you're likely to want to keep in your winter repertoire.
Zamalek? It's the nickname for Carling Black Label beer. And of a top Cairo-based football team that defeated Kaizer Chiefs in May 1993. Zamalek's colours were black, red and white (I think the team's kit design may have changed since that famous match).
Though smarting from the defeat, South African soccer fans started calling Carling Black Label 'Zamalek'. The name has a distinctly South African ring to it, despite its Egyptian origins.
But every bitter defeat needs a sweetener. In this soup, you need the Obies (Old Brown Sherry, a beloved South African fortified wine) because of the bitterness of the beer. It may not seem bitter when drunk, but in a soup the tongue-curling notes are accentuated. Obies to the rescue…
The Parmesan crouton plays an important role too. It's not a tiny crouton of the kind you often find on top of a soup. This is a single round crouton, topped with finely grated Parmesan. It's toasted so that the cheese sticks to the top of the crouton, then it's placed on top of the soup in the bowl.
When you tuck in, push the crouton under the surface – drown it, as it were. It will fall apart and become a delicious textural aspect to the soup.
Tony's leek, onion and beer soup with Parmesan crouton
(Makes 3-4 servings)
Ingredients
5 large or 4 medium onions, sliced in half
2 star anise
Olive oil, as needed
4 to 6 large leeks, trimmed and sliced thinly
3 thyme sprigs
3 Tbsp butter
100 ml Old Brown Sherry
330 ml Carling Black Label beer
750 ml beef stock
150 ml milk
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 to 2 cups grated Parmesan, stirred in before serving
Rounds of toast from a large shop-bought sliced wholewheat loaf, 1 slice per serving
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Peel the onions, slice them in half and put them in a bowl. Add the 2 star anise and a little oil, just enough to coat the onions. Toss them around, transfer them to an oven pan and roast until golden and soft, about half an hour to 40 minutes. Discard the star anise. Let them cool, then slice the onions into thin strips. Reserve.
Trim the ends of the leeks, check that there's no soil in the end parts, and slice them thinly. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in a pan and add the leeks and thyme sprigs. Sauté the leeks on a moderate heat, stirring now and then, until very soft. About eight to 20 minutes.
Add the Old Brown Sherry (or similar fortified wine), stir, and reduce by two thirds. Add the beer and stir while it releases its bubbles. Simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
Add the beef stock, stir, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
Add the onions and the milk, stir and continue cooking gently for 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and add more salt if you think it needs more.
Don't blend this soup; it is all about the texture of the leeks and onions in it, and also about the Parmesan croutons. Talking of which…
Lay a slice of bread on a clean surface. Using a small, sharp knife, carefully cut rounds out of them in the way that you cut a disc for your windscreen when your licence expires.
Toast one side of these in an air fryer; it takes only 4 to 5 minutes at 200°C.
Grate the Parmesan and take a few pinches of it to drop onto the bread rounds. Put these back in the air fryer and grill at 200°C for 3 or 4 minutes until the cheese has melted and turned slightly golden.
Reheat the soup and spoon into deep bowls (shallow bowls won't work for this soup as the croutons need to descend and then become a part of the soup).
Place a crouton on top of each serving and scatter a few thyme leaves over.
When eating this soup, push the croutons under with your spoon so that it melds and each mouthful gives you the full flavour spectrum. DM