Posted on Friday, 26 September 2014

Onion soups have been popular since Roman times, although the modern version of this soup originated in 18^th century France. Legend says that the first French onion soup was cooked by King Louis the XV of France, when all that could be found in his pantry was butter, onions and champagne. It is said that he combined these ingredients to create the first French onion soup. 

To this day people say that traditional French onion soup is a perfect cure for a broken heart or a mighty hangover. Here is a quick and simple recipe for this delicious onion soup, enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 kg of onions

2 tbsp of butter

Drizzle of olive oil

1 glass of dry white wine / 1 tbsp of apple vinegar

1 tbsp of flour

1 litre organic beef or vegetable stock

Fresh herbs – thyme, rosemary, bay leaves

Salt

Pepper

Grilled bread

1 clove of garlic

Comté cheese

Cooking method:

Peel and mince the onions about ½ centimetre thick and add them to a heavy bottomed pan, together with 2 tablespoons of butter, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Leave the onions to caramelise on a medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes. Once the onions are fully cooked and caramelised they should appear a nearly mahogany colour.

Next deglaze your caramelised onions with a glass of dry white wine. Remember not to cook with something you would not drink! If you choose to skip the alcohol, add a table spoon of apple vinegar instead. Add 1 table spoon of flour, mix and cook for another minute, this will help to thicken the soup.

Adding stock and seasoning

1 litre of organic beef stock goes in the pan (vegetable stock for vegetarians) and don't forget the herbs! Add a bunch of dried herbs – thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Make sure not to season it too much as the soup will get more salty while simmering.

Let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, it will be ready when reduced by about a third. Once the soup is ready, add it to individual oven proof bowls.

Building the crust

Grill up some bread, rub it with a clove of garlic and place it on top of the already prepared onion soup. Lastly, sprinkle the soup with a good amount of comté cheese. Of course any melty cheese will do if you don't have comté available. Set the oven to grill then in goes the soup! The cheese needs to melt and crisp up, but that only takes a few minutes. Can you smell that? Absolutely divine!

The soup is ready when the crust is puffed up and golden.

We hope you enjoyed cooking with us! Bon appétit! 

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