French Onion Soup

The real trick with this soup is not to cheat and use stock. All the color and flavor should come from the caramelized onions.

But if you are in a hurry, or you are a chef, you will probably use beef stock instead of water. Tant pis, as they say in France. Here’s my version of the soup the bistros boom made famous.

For 6-8 people you will need:

1kg onions, finely sliced
2tbs butter
2tbs olive oil
Salt & white pepper to taste
2tsp raw (moist brown) sugar
2tsp ground mustard seeds (or powder, if that’s what you’ve got) 2.5 liters of water
6-8 slices of stale French bread
500g grated Gruyere cheese
100ml cognac or other good quality brandy

Use a heavy based saucepan for this and be patient. The onions will take a while to develop their full color. If you try to rush them they will burn.

Melt the butter in th oil, then add the onions, sugar and mustard. Sauté the onions, adding a little water from time to time to prevent them drying out, until they are brown and nicely caramelized.

Add the water, bring to the boil and simmer for one hour. Taste and season.

Meanwhile toast the bread slices and top them with the grated cheese. Let the cheese melt under the grill until it just begins to color, then place the slices in the bottom of the plates you intend to serve the soup in.

Add the brandy to the soup, heat it through without boiling and ladle the finished soup over the toasted cheese slices.

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