French Onion Soup

It’s so easy to make and a great way of using up a glut of onions. Mind you, grilling cheese on the top with croutons can get a bit messy, so my take is to just serve the soup with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side. The old Breville sandwich maker died a few years ago, so I returned to the traditional way of constructing the sandwich in a dry frying pan. Bread, butter side down. Add your grated cheddar, bread butter side up. Turn with a spatula and brown on the other side, now butter side down! I hope that made sense.

I won’t list ingredients, but thinly slice several large onions and sauté in a little oil until browned and soft. Dissolve three or four beef stock cubes (I favour Knorr) in about a pint and a half of boiling water and add to your pot. Depending on your caramelisation, add a small splash of gravy browning. Salt and pepper to taste and a further 10 minutes of simmering. I always add two or three teaspoons of marmite to mine – completely optional!

John has been asking for this French classic for a couple of days now! Lunchtime bliss. The children love soup also, but only because we introduced it into their menu early on. They can be so fickle can’t they? Bon appetite.