French Onion Soup

QI have never been to France. The best French onion soup that I had ever tried was the one in the States.The consistency of the soup is slightly thicker than those that I usually had, and the soup is topped with a baguette and a blanket of chewy Gruyere Cheese.

The Gruyere cheese is very chewy and stretchy, we almost got choked by it, can you believe it?

The pain of making French onion soup is the process of caramelising the onion (simmer the onion over low heat, keep stirring until the onion turn golden brown). I took almost an hour and a half, and I still think I should have done more. Onion tasted much more fragrant after caramelised.

This recipe is adapted from here with some adjustments on technique and quantity of ingredients.

French Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 100g butter
• 4 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 cup broth (beef or chicken)
• 1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup red wine/dry white wine/sherry
• 4 slices French baguette
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• 200g swiss cheese / Gruyere/ sharp cheddar, grated

Cooking Directions

1. In a pan, melt butter over medium heat, add onion and stir fry until the onion turn transparent and golden brown ( this will take around 1.5 hour)
2. Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme, sugar, flour, balsamic vinegar and wine, simmer for around 10 minutes.
3. Add stock, bring it to boil and simmer for another 15 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Preheat oven 180 degree Celsius.
6. Ladle the soup to fill remekins. Top the soup with a piece of baguette and sprinkle some cheese on top.
7. Bake until the cheese melted and slightly brownish, around 15 minutes.