French Onion Soup - or my take on it at least!

It’s taken me a couple of days to blog this recipe as on Sunday my sore head (thanks Charlotte and Pete for throwing such a great but messy party) made it such an effort to just make the soup that writing it up was just never going to happen – I’m bad enough with spelling and grammar, on a hangover I think it would be pretty horrendous. So hung-over on a Sunday my body was craving something calming to eat and remembering the rest of the chicken broth made a few days ago I decided to use it to make another soup – using the broth is great as it has even more flavour than stock so it really gives you something special.

This is by no means a traditional French Onion soup but I make no apologies for that, its lighter in both colour and flavour with the sweetness of the onions blending with the savoury of the broth. It’s as close to a cure for a hangover as I could find on Sunday and for that I forgive this soup for the onion breath left lingering in your mouth hours after you finished the last mouthful…..times like these I delight in being single

French Onion Soup

3 large Spanish onions or 6 average white onions

Butter

Olive Oil

1-2 tablespoons Plain flour

Around 2/3^rd wine glass full of White Wine (dry is best)

4 tablespoons of port (yes port because I had no red wine, but it worked well so hey I’ll go with it)

Chicken broth / or stock - you can use veg stock if you want or even water

Splash Mushroom Ketchup (Gods gift to those of us who hate Lea & Perrins)

Bread – baguette is best but I had none so I just used a standard slice of white

Cheese, grated – use whichever type you prefer I went for Jarlsberg, its mild nuttiness worked well in this dish

Slice all your onions and throw them into a pan with melted butter and some olive oil, cook them on a low heat for around 20 mins until they are translucent and slightly browned – I so did not leave mine for long enough so they need to be a little more golden than this……

Taste then season and if you think it needs it add a little sugar. Stir in the spoonful or so of flour so it soaks up all the flavours of the onions and then add your liquid; Wine goes in first and then the port and then your broth / stock. Turn up the heat until it starts to boil then turn it down to a gentle simmer and add a splash of mushroom ketchup. Leave for 20 mins or so and then it should be ready. Serve with toasted cheesy croutons.