French Onion Soup

• servings: 4 servings
• total time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

100 g / 3.5oz unsalted butter

1 ¼ kg / 2.5 lb brown / yellow onions (, peeled, halved, thinly sliced top to bottom, Note 1)

3/4 cup (185ml) dry white wine (, optional, Note 2)

2 tbsp flour (, plain / all purpose)

1 ½ litres / 6 cups / 1.5 quarts good quality beef broth./stock OR chicken (, low sodium/salt reduced, Note 3)

2 dried bay leaves (or 3 fresh, optional)

3 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

Salt and pepper

6 - 8 slices French baguette (or other softish bread, Note 4)

100 g / 3.5 oz gruyere (or mozzarella cheese, or other melting cheese of choice)

Fresh parsley or thyme leaves (, for garnish, optional)

Directions

Caramelise Onions (See Notes for SLOW COOKER option)

Melt butter in a heavy based casserole pot over medium heat. When it starts to foam, add onions and stir to coat in butter.

30 min on medium low: Turn heat down to medium low. Cook for 30 minutes stirring every few minutes, until the onions have softened and are semi transparent.

Salt, 20 min on medium high: Turn heat up to medium or medium high. Add salt, and cook for a further 20 - 30 minutes, stirring more regularly, until onions are deep golden and sweet.

Make Soup:

Deglaze: Add wine, then simmer rapidly for 2 minutes until mostly evaporated, stirring to scrape the bottom of the pot.

Flour: Sprinkle flour over the onion and cook for 1 minute.

Add broth & herbs: Add broth, thyme and bay leaves.

Simmer: Cover, lower heat so it's simmering gently then simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve: Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Top with 1 or 2 slices of cheesy toast.

Cheese Toast:

Preheat grill / broiler to high.Toast each side of bread until light golden.

Top bread with cheese, then grill until melted and some brown spots appear.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 435 g
• Calories: 386 kcal
• Total Fat: 21 g
• Saturated Fat: 12.2 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 8.8 g
• Cholesterol: 54 mg
• Sodium: 1128 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 34.3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.6 g
• Total Sugars: 6.9 g
• Protein: 15.6 g