French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup
Serves 6 - 8
Preparation: 20 - 30 minutes
or
Slow Cooker: 10-12 hours - the day before
Cooking Time: 1¼ hours
This is my version of a traditional French Onion Soup. It really has to be one of the best soups and you need to allow plenty of time to prepare and cook, which can be done in advance.
It takes longer to prepare than you think and can be cooked the day before and kept in the fridge.
The trick is to cook the onions slowly and to try and caramelise them for the deep flavour and colour.
If you have a slow cooker, you can cook the onions for about 10 - 12 hours in the oil and butter before
transferring them to a heavy based pan to cook on the stove at a higher heat to caramelise.
To achieve the very best flavour, you would either need to buy a top quality Beef stock from your local butcher or make your own in advance by simmering fresh beef bones with carrot, onion, bayleaves and parsley for about eight hours - this will freeze beautifully.
To make this soup completely decadent, you should add White Wine, Brandy and Medium/Dry Sherry.
The piece de resistance are the garlic and parsley buttered baguettes grilled with a generous wedge of Gruyère Cheese.
A fabulous way to wow your guests!!!
Ingredients
1½ kgs English onions, peeled and finely sliced (best using a food processor for this)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
75g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon of Demerara sugar
Seasoning
1½ litres of top quality beef stock (you can, of course, use chicken or vegetable stock instead)
Wine glass of White Wine
Small glass of Brandy
Small glass of Medium/Dry Sherry
To Serve
Large French baguette, cut into one inch sections
Salted butter for spreading
Large handful of finely chopped parsley
3 - 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced (according to the amount of butter you use!)
150g Gruyère cheese (you can use Cheddar, but Gruyère is more authentic and traditional)
AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO........