french onion soup | time: 1-1.5hrs | servings: 4

ingredients:

• 1 kilogram brown onions
• 1 litre (4 cups) stock
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 50-100 grams butter
• oil and salt

equipment:

• large saucepan
• sharp knife
• measuring equipment (tablespoon, teaspoon, cup)
• chopping board
• stirring spoon
• swimming goggles (optional)

instructions:

1. remove the skin from all onions. (this part is where you put on the swimming goggles.) cut once, lengthways, from root to stem, and then slice thinly (~5mm) along the diameter, forming semi-circular pieces of onion (like this). do this to all onions.
2. on low-medium temperature, heat a small amount of oil in a saucepan. chop the butter into cubes and add it to the pan. once the butter has entirely melted, turn the heat down to low and add all the chopped onion.
3. leave the onion to cook, uncovered, for about 40 minutes or until very soft. stir every five minutes or so to prevent burning.
4. once the onions are soft, add two teaspoons of brown sugar and stir until the onions are caramelised. (about two minutes.)
5. add two tablespoons of plain flour and stir well, until the consistency is thicker and there are no lumps.
6. add the stock and stir well. keep it on low heat, stirring every so often to make sure it doesn't burn, until the consistency seems right (soup should be medium brown). if it seems too thick, add water.
7. add salt to taste and serve.

notes:

• it's very easy to adjust this to dietary requirements. i used chicken stock, but you can use vegetable stock if you like. you can substitute the butter for margarine as well.
• this recipe is very good with bread - drizzle the bread with olive oil, spread a little minced garlic over it, and bake in the oven or in a sandwich toaster until slightly crispy.
• the soup keeps well in the fridge, just heat it up on the stove (or the microwave, but that's not as nice).
• i haven't tried adding any spices, but you could try onion salt, garlic salt or pepper.
• you can buy 1 kilo bags of brown onions from most supermarkets.