french onion soup

if you could see the 10 kg bag of onions sitting in the corner of my kitchen you wouldn't be surprised that i made french onion soup today..and the stars were aligned in my favour because i also had some rich meat stock, some amazing english cloth bound cheddar that i bought yesterday and a freshly made yeast/sourdough loaf of crispy crusted white bread..

all the stirring involved in making the soup was a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend part of a wintery sunday afternoon..

french onion soup

adapted from gourmet traveller

ingredients

2 kgs onions sliced

50 gms butter

2 tablespoons (tbs) olive oil

1 teaspoon (tsp) salt

1 litre rich meat stock (homemade)

 4 thyme sprigs

1 fresh bay leaf

3 parsley stalks

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated tasty cheese for each person

1 slice of bread cut in half for each person

method

~heat butter and oil, add onion and salt, cover, and cook over a moderate heat for 20 minutes or until soft

~remove lid and cook over a low to moderate heat for a further hour stirring every 10-15 minutes to prevent scorching

~add 125 mls stock and cook for 5 minutes or until the stock has evaporated

~repeat this process until a total of 500 mls of stock has been added

~tie the herbs with kitchen string and add to the soup along with the remaining 500 mls stock

~add seasoning to taste and cook over a low heat for a further 20 minutes

to serve

~heat oven to 200 deg c
~place soup into soup bowl and sprinkle with half of the cheese
~place bread on top and add remaining cheese
~place bowls on a baking tray and cook for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted
~serve immediately