Cheesy Onion Soup
Having fell in love with this simple classic French Onion Soup many moons ago during my travels to Europe, I always felt the need to replicate so I could enjoy it at home. Traditionally served in rustic individual terracotta pots, however, I find making one large pot easier to handle and equally as pleasing.
I believe you will find this recipe extremely easy to follow and once you work out the best way to cut all those onions, I promise a joy to make. Of course there are many old wives tales about chopping onions; should one wear sunglasses or wrap a cloth around your head but I find working quickly and using the wonderful ‘slicing’ blade in my food processor my recommended best option.
I would also like to add that this simple soup not only tastes sublime but due to its high onion content, can play a strong part as a powerful ‘natural’ fighter if you have been suffering from colds or flu. Rich in Manganese, vitamin C and B6, iron, folate, and potassium, together all help strengthen the immune system and fight such infections. A member of my family suffers terribly from chest infections, usually as a secondary affect from a bad cold or flu, and as soon as this happens this underestimated ‘simple’ soup becomes a regular on our family menu.
Ingredients
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200g butter
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2 tbsp olive oil
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8 large brown onions- thinly sliced
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1 litre 500mls water- or chicken stock
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Sea salt- to taste
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Coarsely ground black pepper- plenty
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1 large French breadstick- cut into 1cm thick slices
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250g gruyère or cheddar cheese- grated
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French mustard- generous amount
Instructions
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01 Melt butter and oil in a large ovenproof pan. Add sliced onion and fry slowly, stirring frequently until brown and caramelised. Be patient this can take 45 minutes plus.
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02 Now add water/stock and season well with sea salt and black pepper. Gently bring to the boil and simmer slowly on the hob for 45-50 minutes. If soup becomes too thick, add more water or stock.
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Prepare cheesy bread:
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03 Whilst soup is cooking, slice the French bread and lay flat on a tray, lightly sprinkling the cut surface tops with olive oil. Place under a hot grill and toast on both sides. Remove from the grill, smother generously with a mild French mustard and leave to one side until required.
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Final stage:
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04 When soup is cooked cover the surface with the cut pieces of French bread; gently submerging each piece into the onion liquid. Top generously with the grated cheese.
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05 Place the soup in a hot oven for a further 20 minutes or so without a lid and bake until the cheesy topping has begun to bubble and melt, and the bread turned a golden brown.
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06 Serve hot and bubbling to the table.
Notes
Best to use the large yellow or brown skinned onion for this recipe and traditionally stock is used, but I find water works just as well. If you struggle with the slicing of the onions, use a food processor on 'slice' mode - this will really help to prevent the tears! Omit the cheese if you are avoiding dairy. This soup is made on the hob but for the final stage when it is needed to brown the cheesy bread, place in the oven for the final stage of cooking. One can use the grill to melt the cheese, but I find the oven bake method gives a better end result, as the bread has then time to soak in the wonderful onion stock whilst turning cheesy golden brown on the top. The above quantities makes a generous serving, so half the ingredients if too much, however, we never find this soup too much, as we still enjoy it reheated the next day.
