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French onion soup is a classic of French cuisine that can be tricky to do well (we make it easy!).Ìý

The thing that will take longest with this recipe is frying the onions. Consider making double or even triple quantities at the same time and freezing what you don’t need for a quick soup later!ÌýÌý

Emmental or Gruyere are the classic cheeses but cheddar works just as well and, again. All can be frozen.Ìý

Use butter or a butter flavoured spread if you can as you can taste the difference.

Ingredients

·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý 400g onions – that’s about 3 medium

·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý 25g (1oz) butter or spread

·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý ¼ tsp black pepper

·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý 2 quality beef stock cubes or (vegetarian option) 1tsp dark soy + 1 veg stock cube

·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý 2 chunky slices of bread for toast

·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý 60g cheese (Cheddar, Emmental or Gruyere)Ìý

MethodÌý

1.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Finely dice your onions small. You can slice them if you want, depending on how you want the soup to look in the end – it will look better if they’re diced but it will taste the same either way.

2.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý You need to cook your onions for a least half an hour on a low heat (use a smaller ring), so make sure you don’t brown them too quickly. They should end up a bit browned but definitely not burned; golden is fine too. It’s easier to achieve this if you start on a low heat and then just brown them towards the end if you feel they need a bit more.

3.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý After at least 30 minutes on the bob (you can do up to an hour), crumble the beef stock cubes (or soy/veg stock cube) and add 500ml of water and the black pepper. Bring to the boil

4.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes

5.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý When you’re soup has been simmering for 10 minutes, toast your bread under the grill and on one side only

6.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Turn the toast over and put grated or sliced cheese on the top. Grill until a nice golden brown

7.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Serve the cheese on toast with your soup.