When the going gets tough the tough get cooking

I haven’t reached the point of making my own sourdough starter (we don’t eat much bread) but I am spending much time in the kitchen. Part of it is really therapeutic and part is grindingly tedious.

We had a few weeks of fabulous spring weather, took out some summer t-shirts and put away the sweaters and of course, the weather changed and it is now cold, windy and very wet. Food therapy is required.

This is the first soup I ever made. The original recipe came from the late great Robert Carrier – his Great Dishes of the World was my first recipe book. It assumed no knowledge or skill and the recipes were straightforward and delicious – before the days of Delia.  I also ate in his restaurant in Islington.  This is a modification of that recipe which called for many small onions…..

Onion Soup

Serves 6 

4 large Spanish onions                 

1 large clove garlic

4 tab butter                                   

6 rounds toasted French bread

1800 ml beef stock^*             

½ teas mace

180 ml cognac                      

sugar

mixture of grated Parmesan and Gruyere

Peel and slice the onions thinly.  Heat butter with a little sugar and cook onions gently over a low heat, stirring until golden brown.  Add the beef stock and mace gradually, stirring all the time until the soup begins to boil.  Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about an hour.  Just before serving add the cognac, salt and pepper and serve with toasted bread heaped with grated cheese. You can use any Swiss style cheese which will provide the lovely stringy pieces of cheese with the Parmesan adding the more robust umami.

*Time was when I made my own stock – I still make chicken stock/soup but not beef.  You can use tinned consommé if you like a strong taste, the purists just use water but my favourite cheat is a chicken stock cube and an Oxo cube.