There is no shortcut in onion soup. Cut the forty minutes the onions need to brown down to twenty and the soup comes out pale and bland; turn the heat up to hurry it and the onions scorch and turn bitter. Low heat, the occasional stir, patience. What you get back is a depth of flavour like a good stock.
Ingredients
For the soup
For the top
Method
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Caramelise the onions
Heat the butter and olive oil in a wide pan and add the onions and the sugar. Cook over a low heat for 40 minutes, stirring now and then. The onions should be deep brown and much reduced.
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Add the flour
Scatter in the flour and stir for 2 minutes.
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Add the stock
Add the beef stock a little at a time and drop in the bay leaf.
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Simmer
Simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and take out the bay leaf.
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Finish under the grill
Pour the soup into ovenproof bowls, lay toast on top and cover with plenty of cheese. Put them under the grill for 5 minutes until the cheese melts and browns.
Tips
- The brown layer on the bottom of the pan is the flavour itself. Scrape it up with a wooden spoon as you add the liquid and stir it into the soup.
- The sugar does not speed up the caramelising, it balances it. Do not use more than a teaspoon.
- Without beef stock, water and a spoonful of tomato paste will do, but the difference is obvious.
- Cook the onions in a heavy-based pan. A thin base will not survive forty minutes and they will burn.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.