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........

1. First of all, peel and finely chop the onions - it is much quicker to pop the onion halves into a food processor using the fine blade - alternatively, you can use a mandolin, but I think they are lethal!!
   
   
2. Tip the onions into a large deep saucepan with the olive oil and unsalted butter and slowly heat, stirring occasionally for at least an hour.    Alternatively, using a slow cooker, you can cook for 10-12 hours before transferring to a heavy based pan and caramelising the onions with the sugar on a high heat. 
   
   
3. Add the beef stock and simmer for about 15 minutes.   
   
   
4. Add the wine, brandy and sherry and cook for a further 5 minutes.
   
   
5. Adjust the seasoning and the soup will now be ready to serve.
   
   
6. For the Gruyère baguette topping:    Put softened salted butter into a good sized mixing bowl and add the finely chopped parsley and minced garlic and beat well until thoroughly mixed.
   
   
7. Slice the loaf into one inch pieces and lightly toast.
   
   
8. Spread a generous amount of parsley and garlic butter on each piece of toast and top with a generous slice of Gruyère cheese and then pop these under the grill until they bubble.
   
   
9. Finally, serve these either separately and most certainly with one or two on the top of the soup bowl.
   
   
10. Enjoy!