As autumn draws on there is a surplus of fresh onions just crying out to be used in numerous dishes. A good fresh onion should positively drip juice when it is sliced and should be able to make even the toughest chef cry at 20 paces. This recipie, using around 700 grammes of fresh onions, is a sure fire tear jerker. Trying to lose weight? Then try this recipe. With the exception of the butter and oil, which you can drastically cut down on by using a non-stick pan, this recipe is very low in calories. As shown this recipe will make enough soup for 4 adults.

Ingredients

• 700 grammes of fresh onions.
• 35g of butter or margarine.
• 2 tablespoons of oil.
• 1 tablespoon of white sugar or 2 tablespoons of medium dark sugar.
• 1.2 litres of water.
• 4 beef stock cubes.
• 3 vegetable stock cubes.
• Salt (Celery Salt if possible).
• Black pepper.
• 300 ml of dry / medium white wine.
• 2 cloves of garlic.

To Complement The Dish

• French stick or baguettes.
• Butter
• Cheddar Cheese
• Celery Salt

Method

1. Peel and finely chop the onions. A liquidiser makes short work of this if you have one. Save some large clean pieces of onion skin.
2. Add the onions, sugar, butter and oil to a large saucepan and then fry the onions for 20 to 30 minutes until they begin to caramelise. Stir the onions frequently to prevent burning.
3. When the onions have gone brown finely chop the garlic then add it and fry for another minute or so taking care not to burn the garlic.
4. Add the water and bring to the boil.
5. (Optional Step) Add the pieces of onion skin you saved earlier. The onion skin will leech out natural colourings into the soup that will darken it and make it look more appealing.
6. Crush the stock cubes and mix with a little water (less than 25ml) which will prevent the stock cubes forming lumps in the soup. Add them to the soup.
7. Add the wine to the soup.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stock cubes contain quite a lot of salt so it is unlikely the soup will need more.
9. Simmer the soup for around an hour until it has thickend a little and the colour has developed.
10. Remove the onion skin (if added) and serve the soup with warm buttered baguette.

The Complement

This is completely optional but makes a nice addition if you are hungry. The soup is also delicious with just fresh plain rolls.

1. Slice a fresh french stick into 3 cm thick sections.
2. Butter and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese.
3. Place under a hot grill until the cheese has melted.
4. Lightly sprinkle with celery salt to give an interesting flavour.
5. Place back under the grill and cook until the bread or cheese is golden brown. Taking care not to burn the bread.