Onion Soup

Since I decided to switch career and become a pastry chef my life has been incredibly busy and I often don’t have the time to cook let alone come up with new tasty recipes to share with you.

Pastry is my big love but, there is something reassuring in a lot of savoury recipes: you do not need to be 100% precise. Soups are one of those recipes where you can wing it a little bit and play with the ratio of the ingredients without fail (I can’t say the same for most of sweet recipes).

With the above in mind I give you a super easy and classic onion soup recipe that will work perfectly when you are in a rush and the weather is cold outside.
In the classic french recipe the bread and cheese is dipped in the soup but, I prefer mine crunchy so I just toasted it separately. It’s also worth mentioning that this recipe uses a beef stock as a base. If you are vegetarian feel free to swap for a veggie stock, you might have to go a bit heavier with the seasoning.

Ingredients

700g brown onions
1 litre beef stock
60g unsalted butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
Salt & Pepper
100g Grated Gruyère
4 slices of bread

Step by Step

In a deep pot melt the butter
Thinly slice the onions
Sautée the onions at medium low heat until they are translucent
Add your tbsp of sugar and your tbsp of sifted flour. Mix well to avoid any lumps
Add your beef stock and gently dimmer for 30 mins roughly
Make sure you stir frequently to avoid the onions from sticking. If the liquid evaporates too quickly turn the heat down and top up with extra beef stock
In the meantime preheat the oven at 250 C and slice your bread, grate the cheese and spread over your bread. Place the slices in the oven until the cheese is melted (you’ll get crunchy bread this way)
Alternatively, pour the soup in 4 oven proof containers and place you bread slices on top of the soup and in the oven. (in this way you’ll get the classic soaked bread & melted cheese)
Enjoy!