French Onion Soup

One of the ultimate Winter warmers, a bowl of this brings to mind Les Halles, Paris, back in the day when it was still a market and the traders and porters used to enjoy a bowl for breakfast. Two things are essential to make it work – a good beef stock, and braising the onions in butter, slowly, for a good half an hour. This brings out the sugars in the onion, giving the finished soup a lovely sweetness. It is filling and satisfying, and in the end, who can argue with a bowl of soup that has cheese on toast on top?

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Ingredients

50 g Butter
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 kg Onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp Sugar
1 3/10 litres Good Beef Stock

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Method

1

Braise the onions in the olive oil and butter for 45 minutes, on a low heat – you want the onions to be meltingly soft, but not too coloured. When the onions have reached this requirement, add 2tsp Dijon mustard, a dozen grinds of good black pepper, a shake of Worcester sauce, salt and a teaspoon of sugar. Add the beef stock and cook on a gentle simmer for 45-60 minutes, until the soup is reduced to a nice thickness.

2

To serve, put the soup into bowls and top each with a slice of baguette and Gruyere cheese, then place under a hot grill till bubbling.

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