French Onion Soup

I make French Onion Soup several times over winter. It's great for healthy lungs and it's a filling soup for those cold winter days (well, as cold as it can get in Melbourne!). I've used a variety of recipes over the years: some ask for apple cider, others dry white wine and brandy and others require no alcohol at all. The recipe below is a combination of several that I've used.

ingredients

1kg brown onion
80g butter
2 litres beef stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons brandy
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
freshly ground black pepper & sea salt to taste

instructions

I always use a 24cm, 3.8l Le Chasseur round French oven and prepare the onions using a mandolin. The best French Onion Soups are those that are made with a lot of time and patience. The longer you cook the onions before adding the stock, the better.

Slice the onions and melt the butter in the pot. Cook these together slowly over a low heat with the thyme for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly (I like to cook a little longer, but you may not have the luxury of time that I have!). The aim is to get the onions to turn a golden colour and caramelise so as to give the soup that nice brown glow.

Put the lid on and leave it for about an hour, again stirring regularly. Then gradually add 2 litres of beef stock, wine and brandy. Cook on a slow heat for about 3 to 4 hours, then turn the heat off and leave the soup to stand overnight. It always tastes best the day after.

Serve it with grilled cheese baguette, preferably gruyère but colby will do.