no tears french onion soup

We’ve had some proper cold weather these past few days and a chilly evening will always bring out the soup in me and this no tears French onion soup not only delivers the warmth but also fills the house with the most incredible aromas of caramelising onions.  The Viking absolutely adores this soup.  He’s always had a thing for French Onion Soup.  Ever since we first met he would always order it if it was on a menu in a restaurant and he also had a store cupboard filled with tins of the stuff.  Once he became a vegetarian it then slipped from favour so any chance he gets to enjoy a veggie version always feels like a special treat for him.  It’s such a simple soup to make I daren’t tell him in case I break the myth of his favourite dish!

This no tears French onion soup is slightly adapted from the ever brilliant Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries, a book that lives permanently off the book shelf.  I could not recommend it more.

for the soup

• 4 large onions – peels and sliced root to tip
• a few nobs of butter
• a little olive oil
• salt and pepper
• a glass of white wine
• 1.5 litres of good quality vegetable stock

for the crusty garlic croutons

• 2 or 3 slices of bread – cut into chunky cubes
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• 50g strong cheddar – finely crated
• a little olive oil

Place the onions, cut side up, into a roasting dish, sprinkle with oil and  place a small knob of butter onto each onion. Season with salt, pepper and a little fresh oregano and then roast gently in an oven set to 160C for an hour and a half or until golden and caramelised. Watch them as you don’t want them to burn.  I tend to turn down the heat to 120C for the last 30 mins. The longer they roast on a low heat the better.

Once they’re gloriously golden, take them out of the oven and pour over the glass of white wine.  Stir this in well to ‘de-glaze’ the roasting tin.  You should now have a stunning dark liquid in the bottom of the pan.  Let the onions cool slightly.

You want to slice the onions into slithers.  They’re slippery buggers now they’re roasted so I tend to cut into them with a pair of kitchen scissors.  I leave them quite chunky.

Pour the contents of the roasting tin into large pan, add the stock and let it simmer for 20 mins.

Meanwhile, place the croutons and grated cheese in a bowl and toss them in a little olive oil, seasoning and the garlic powder.  Spread them out on a baking tray and roast for 20 mins on 160C

Bung them on top of the soup prior to serving.

eat and of course, enjoy!