English Onion Soup
No need for beef stock
Easy-peasy comfort food. Simple ingredients transformed by slow cooking. Enough for 6
- 1.5kg onions, peeled and sliced – even more would be better
- Knob of butter – technical term for about a tablespoon
- Salt and pepper
- 2.5 litres boiling water
- Thyme – a few sprigs, or a tablespoon of dried
- 2 Bay Leaves
- A few shakes of Worcestershire sauce
- Half a lemon, squeezed
- Optional: 2 tablespoons vegetable stock powder – I use Marigold Bouillon. Replacing some of the water with a rich chicken stock would be even nicer, but the point of this recipe is that it tastes great even with only water…
- Large saucepan (say 4 litres)
The most arduous job will be peeling and slicing the onions. A large, very sharp knife is key. When you’re about to cry, put your hands under running water. It does seems to help, but probably just because it takes you away from the onions. Melt the butter in the saucepan over medium heat and add the onions, salt and pepper. Cook them gently, with the lid on for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. Once the onions are soft and translucent, remove the lid and keep cooking slowly, stirring more frequently to prevent sticking.
After an hour or so, you should have a golden, sweet, vastly reduced pile of onions.
Add the hot water and the other ingredients and bring to a simmer.
Serve with bread and cheese, unless you’re trying to recreate the Alpine mountain restaurant experience; in which case you’ll need to top with sliced baguette and grated gruyère and flash under a hot grill till melted everywhere.