slow-cooked french onion soup

… it’s hurricane season here in the UK.  Well maybe that’s a teeny exaggeration but as I write this there’s the tail end of some tropical hurricane rushing past the window and it’s very strange… completely dark and lashing rain one minute then bright sunshine and strong winds the next.  It’s also the first day this autumn that i’ve properly felt chilled to the bone which i’m absolutely thrilled about. Don’t get me wrong, I love the summer but I don’t feel properly human until there’s that chill in the air, the thick sweaters have to come out of hiding and the fire has to be lit in the mornings… proper food can be eaten without thinking about the bikini body and I can start to dream of Halloween, Bonfire Night and then of course Christmas.  I also think it’s important for the health of the environment to have a proper chill and frost, it kills the bugs and the flies and settles everything back into its proper place… time for a rich and thick soup me’thinks…

slow-cooked french onion soup
I received a wonderful and very timely book to review this week. Slow Cooked by Miss South is a compendium of easy, thrifty and of course delicious recipes for slow cookers and it has completely opened my eyes the the joys of slow cooking.  What I love about the book is not only that it’s full of gorgeous ideas but that she’s clearly done a huge amount of research and recipe development to deliver some truly inspirational recipes that don’t just amount to lots of stews.  Did you know you could cook the most glorious, old-fashioned tasting baked potatoes in a slow-cooker, one that comes out brown and crispy or that you can bake puddings and cakes in it?  Call me naive but I had no idea.  The other great thing about the book is that it has very clear and concise instructions, nothing wishy-washy and Miss South explains why she’s doing each step so that you feel you understand the way the slow-cooker works and why it works… all in all I’m really enjoying the book and plan to cook a number of dishes from it so watch this space…

… I realise that not everyone has a slow-cooker so from now on on this blog, for every slow-cooker method I will include a short regular cooking method or a link back to a similar recipe where i’ve cooked the dish without a slow-cooker…

500g white onions – peeled, halved and thinly sliced
25g butter
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
900ml hot good quality vegetable stock (or beef stock)
100ml vermouth or white wine
25ml brandy (optional but excellent)

start by caramelising the onions by placing them in the slow-cooker with the butter and sugar, place the lid n and cook on low for 4 hours or up to 6 hours for a darker gold

after this stage add the chopped garlic, plain flour, mustard powder and salt and pepper and stir well to combine

pour over the stock and vermouth or white wine, stir again to make sure there are no lumps, put the lid back on and allow it to cook for another 4 hours.  Add the brandy (if using) 30 mins before serving

i’ve served my soup with some crouton rings that were invented by The Viking and are patent pending so I can’t divulge how they were made…, I also added plenty of strong grated emmental cheese

if you’re cooking this soup without the slow-cooker the most important bit is the caramelisation of the onions which can be done in a regular pan on a low heat, you’ll want to keep the onions gently sautéing away for a minimum of 30 minutes until they are a glorious golden brown before adding the rest of the ingredients and the simmering process needs to be at least another 30 mins… take a look at  a similar french onion soup I made on my blog last year.

Slow Cooked by Miss South is to be published by Ebury Press on 6th November and will retail at £14.99

even though I made The Vikings patented crouton rings this soup still qualifies for the No Croutons Required bloggers challenge hosted by Jaq from Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa from Lisa’s Kitchen

eat and of course, enjoy!