by Paul Knight

Created on: January 18, 2011

I myself am a relative new comer to the world of French onion soup because it just was not something that had ever been served to me nor until a dinner party a few years ago when looking for an easy starter had I had the inclination to make it. You can imagine my pleasant surprise as the house started to fill with the deep and intense fumes of the soup and then my further delight as I tasted for the first time the rich, sweet and flavoursome liquid, which just makes you feel warm and cosy inside. Since then the soup has become a family favourite and both my brother and some friends have taken the recipe from me to recreate the soup at home.

With this soup I like to serve a very hearty cheese on toast made from ciabatta bread and really mature cheddar to balance the sweetness of the soup, however, it is more commonly served with garlic or herb croutons. The soup can also be started on the hob and left in the oven to slow cook until you are ready for it which makes it brilliant for parties or as something inviting to welcome you home after a nice winter walk.

Ingredients:

1 kilo of fine to medium sliced white onions

60gs Butter (Salted or unsalted)

1-2 tbs olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

1 small glass of white wine (Dry)

1 Glug of decent cognac

2 1/2 pints of beef stock (You can use vegetable stock for vegetarians but the colour of the soup is slightly different)

Method:

Add the butter and oil to a pan and wait until the butter is just melted. Place the chopped onion into the pan and cook stirring occasionally making sure to scrape anything that is stuck to the pan base. Don’t concern yourself with the fact bits are sticking this adds to the flavour. Your onions should be caramel coloured and very soft before the next stage this can take anywhere between 20-30 minutes. Put the chopped garlic into the pan and stir for a few more minutes. (Adding the garlic now stops it from burning so you don’t get a bitter taste) Pour in your wine and cognac and bring to the boil so that the alcohol is cooked off. At this point if you wish to leave it in the oven transfer to a suitable dish and add your stock if your happy with the hob just add your stock to the pan with some fresh ground black pepper. Gently simmer for up to 2 hours you want the liquid to be no more than 3 cm above the onion beneath.

Serve as suggested above with either cheese on toast, croutons or nice chunks of fresh bread for a truly delicious winter warmer, also for those who want to add extra depth to the flavour you could add ½-1 tsp of smoked paprika but not so much it becomes spicy as this would stop it being a true French onion. Bon appetit!

Learn more about this author, Paul Knight.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.