FRENCH ONION SOUP

Goats Cheese Croutons 

This is just a bowl of heaven, deep rich bone marrow beef stock, sweet onions, a dash of wine and a crispy garlic rubbed buttery sour dough crouton topped with gooey melted goats cheese every spoonful is delight.

Ingredients 

(serves 4)

50g butter + 1 tbsp for the croutons 

1 glug olive oil

3 garlic cloves finely chopped 

800g Spanish onions finely sliced

1 heaped tbsp plain flour

2 ltrs beef stock (recipe below)

300ml dry white wine

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of thyme

6 slices sour dough loaf

180g goats cheese

Himalayan sea salt 

Fresh ground black pepper

Melt the butter and oil in a sauce pan on medium low heat, add the onions and two of the garlic cloves, soften for 30 minutes allowing the onions to go a deep brown and caramelise releasing all their natural sweetness.  

Add the flour and stir in throughly, slowly add the white wine and stir until smooth stirring all the time, bring to a simmer, add the beef stock and bring back to a gentle simmer.  Add the bay and thyme and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Rub the remaining garlic clove over the sour dough slices, brush with butter and bake in the oven for 10 minutes until crisp, place 30g of goats cheese on each croutons and pop back in the oven to melt for 5 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs from the soup, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to your liking, serve your onion soup in deep bowls and float your goats cheese croutons on top.

Bone Marrow Beef Stock

1 glug olive oil 

2 marrow bones

Various bones from the butchers

(or left over roast beef bones)

2 carrots roughly chopped 

1 rib celery roughly chopped 

1 onion roughly chopped 

1 clove garlic chopped

1 leek roughly chopped 

2 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

If you are making your own stock do this the day before so you can leave the stock to very gently simmer for 8 hours to maximum the flavour.  I like to roast all the bones for 1 hour to increase the flavour and colour of the stock.  Heat the oil, add the carrots, leeks, onion, garlic and celery and soften for 5 minutes, place the rest of ingredients into your stock pot add water to cover the bones and leave to gently simmer for up to 8 hours, strain and return to the pan, taste and season with salt and pepper, or reduce the volume to intensify the depth of flavour.