French Onion Soup

It’s day two of Paris Week and can you believe that up until last week I’d never had French Onion Soup? It formed part of my French meal menu that I planned for the week before we went on vacation and it’s oh-my-yum good!

It’s everything I love – a hot, rich broth flowing with sweet, buttery caramelised onions. This really is fall in a bowl. I don’t know why it took me so long to make it.

I found various recipes for the famous soup online and mixed and matched to create my own version. French Onion Soup is traditionally made with beef stock, but I didn’t have any beef stock – I had chicken – so this is made with chicken stock. The chicken stock makes it a touch light, which is fantastic because it's still in the 80s here.

It takes a really long time to prepare, so you might want to make it the day before and warm it up when you’re ready to serve.

French Onion Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon oil

4 cups sliced onion

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

2 teaspoons soy sauce

pinch pepper

pinch thyme

1 bay leaf

2 slices of baguette

2 tablespoons grated cheese

Recipe

1. Melt the butter and oil over a low heat and add the sliced onion. Toss so the onion is coated in the mixture then cover the pan and leave to cook slowly for 30-40 minutes until caramelised. Return to the pan every 5 minutes or so to stir the onions.

2. Add the garlic, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

3. Pour in the chicken stock, white wine, soy sauce, pepper, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. When simmering, reduce to a low heat and leave to cook uncovered for about 30-45 minutes.

4. Pour into bowls, top with a slice of baguette and sprinkle with a tablespoon of grated cheese. Place under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is all melted and serve.

Enjoy!

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