As I’m listening to “Here comes the night” by David Bowie I have a sudden longing for the warm and comforting sweetness of a French onion Soup. I have a rule though: when you are in a funk, it’s got to be a “No Tears” recipe!  So here you go – one of my absolute favorite winter dish made without a tear. The trick: by cooking the halved onions in the hot oven, you avoid the inconsolable look that come from peeling & slicing; and by roasting them slowly you save time standing in front of the stove!

There will be no crying in my Kitchen!  So there you go: The “No Tears” French Onion Soup!

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 5 large onions – as a rule of thumb Count approximately 1 Large onion per person and then 1 more!
• 1-2 cloves of garlic with the peel on
• 50 g butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon brown syrup
• 25 cl of white wine – or half a can of Beer 
• 650ml (vegetable) stock
• salt& pepper,
•  a few old slices of peasant bread 
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 100 g grated cheese – type Cheddar 

Steps:

 

• Preheat the oven to 200C  Grill,  Peel the Onions and cut them lengthwise, 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled  Drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper – add some thyme, or rosemary

• Leave in the oven until well roasted & turn only once  (In my case it was about 30 minutes on 1 side – 10 minutes on the other)  – Don’t touch the onions too much!

• Once beautifully caramelized, simply cut them straight on the oven rack

• Throw the sliced cooked onions into a deep pan with the butter, squeeze out the flesh of the roasted garlic from the peel, and add the flour – cook while stirring for about 1 min, then add the beer first, then the stock, the syrup & the mustard. Bring to a boil & let simmer for about 10 minutes – Check the seasoning and adjust with more sock if too thick

To serve: If you have some day old bread, place it in the bottom of a bowl, and pour the  soup on top, add the grated cheese and put under the oven’s grill until the cheese is bubbling. You can offer it as a main with peasant bread , rubbed with some garlic and lightly grilled – and a platter of cheese. It’s also perfect as a starter.

Enjoy while listening to good music – In my case tonight it will be “Life on Mars” from Bowie!

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Soupe à l’oignon* is without contest one of the most authentically French food you can eat. So much flavor for such a  humble ingredient, and you don’t even need to travel far to get the full experience! This understated dish summarizes everything I love about Food making! Simple ingredients, limited mastery required and an unlimited wave of flavor that gets you wondering how such a common kitchen staple as the onion can still surprise you so much! As you can tell, I’m pretty obsessed with them- to the point I use them as decoration or even as visual inspiration!

* pronounced “Soop’aloneeon