French Onion Soup
This was sort of a trend last year, and to be honest I do think it was slightly overhyped, although, this was very tasty. It did not take long either, is very cost effective, and has minimal ingredients.
There are better soups out there though, in my opinion. You should still try this though.
Recipe, makes 2-3 portions;
8 onions
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
THE STOCK
750ml water
Your onion skins & any discarded pieces
3 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs dried sage
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp stock powder
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
Method
Cut your onions in half, chop off the ends, and peel the skins off.
Add the skins & any other discarded bits to a large saucepan (for the stock), then add the rest of the ingredients and leave on medium heat, covered with a lid whilst you caramelise the onions.
Slice all your onions, finely, or slightly larger, depending on how you want them in your soup.
To a large frying pan, add your butter and olive oil, and allow to melt on medium heat.
Add your sliced onions, season with salt and pepper, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Continuously stir your onions for the first couple of minutes, then reduce the heat slightly & allow them to caramelise, stirring every 5 minutes until they are - you don’t need to add anything else, just give them time to cook.
If the onions start to stick, add a splash of water and stir again.
Once the onions are caramelised - this should take 30-40 mins.
Remove from the heat and set aside.
Remove all the onion discards & whole herbs from the onion broth - you could drain the stock through a sieve, then return it to your large saucepan.
Add the onions to the saucepan with your broth, turn the heat to medium, and allow the soup to reduce - this should take a further 15-20 minutes.
Once your soup has significantly reduced, serve - you can serve with a cheese toast on top, or just on its own.
Notes + Variations:
You don’t have to top this with a grilled cheese, although it does add some substance. Otherwise, you’re just eating a bowl of onions. I’m not here to complain about that though.
Ps. If you have any of this leftover, blend it and use it as gravy on a roast/ Christmas dinner, and thank me later.
