French onion soup with thyme and Beaufort cheese croutes recipe
I use chicken stock for my French onion soup mainly because I think it works really well with the fresh thyme and Beaufort cheese. If you cannot get hold of Beaufort cheese, then Emmental will do just as well.
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 4 onions, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 handful of thyme
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 100 ml brandy
- 1 l chicken stock
- 1 pinch sea salt and cracked black pepper
- 4 slices of olive bread
- 50 g Beaufort cheese, grated
Details
- Cuisine: French
- Recipe Type: Soup
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 10 mins
- Cooking Time: 60 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
- Add the onions, 2 sprigs of thyme and the butter and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Add the brandy and reduce on a medium heat until the alcohol has evaporated.
- Preheat the grill to hot. Add the chicken stock to the onions and most of the remaining thyme (leave some to sprinkle on the croutons and the finished soup). Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, for the giant croutes, dip the olive bread in 4 tbsp olive oil, making sure they are well covered.
- Then place the slices on a baking tray and cook under the grill for 10 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
- To finish the croutes, sprinkle them with the Beaufort cheese, followed by some finely chopped fresh thyme and some salt to season.
- Grill for a further 2 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with more thyme and a healthy serving of the warm baked olive bread croutes.
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