French Onion Soup

My obsession with French Onion Soup came about after I served it at a dinner party celebrating Bastille Day. I was then going to serve it again for a dinner party I was giving the day before the last lockdown and had already made the caramelised onions and bought the cheese and stock. It has been a godsend for my lunches as nothing makes me happier in a very boring day than eating French Onion Soup for lunch!

First of all make Caramelised Onions as per Annabel Langbein’s Recipe.

If you have Stephanie Alexanders ‘Cooks Companion’ the soup recipe comes from that. However, although her caramelised onions are amazing the difference (with their 1 litre of white wine and 3 hours cooking isn’t really justified.

Ingredients

Caramelised Onions

Sourdough bread

Gruyere cheese

Beef Stock (in the box from the supermarket)

Method

Select ovenproof soup bowls. You need 1 slice of bread for each bowl cut in half. I don’t like the slices to be too thick but a matter of choice.

Put a spoonful of the onion into each bowl, then cover with a piece of bread and top with cheese. You can grate it or just slice of a couple of thin slices and put on top of the bread. Repeat with another layer of onion, bread and cheese. Ladle over stock and either bake in oven until soup is bubbling-hot and top crust is golden or I put the oven on grill and microwave the bowls until hot (I’m only doing one or two at a time) and then put under the grill for at least 4 minutes so the cheese and bread is really crusty. Submerge crust in each bowl just before serving, to soften it.