French Onion Soup

Yes you can't be in Paris, and not try the onion soup, or rather, not try to make your own onion soup!!!

With the chicken stock I saved up the other day, I added to some caramelised onions (mixed and cooked with a little flour), and voila, French onion soup, just had baguette and some melted cheese. Sad to say, I don't have a proper grill or oven here, so the cheese oughta be more grilled. I think a light red, like a Chinon, will be go well with it.

Caramelised onions are easy to make, make your kitchen smell wonderful, and once you make a big batch in advance, you can keep it in your fridge for emergency supply. Days when you're hungry, you can make a tartine (open faced hot sandwich) with them. Here today, an example of French onion soup. Another day, you could perhaps grill some chicken/beef and dash it on with chopped parsley, and you have a meal.

Melt some butter in a pan, add sliced onions (vertically, gives it a more uniform size), a pinch or 2 of salt, a bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, and slowly cook them till it's med brown. Remember to stir once in a while to pick up the brown deposits on the base, and if necessary, add a little water to do so. Be patient, it should take maybe 20 mins on a slow fire.