This onion soup is tastier than the one you eat in Paris

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: recipe for onion soup without tears.

An ode to vegetables is not just a cookbook. Alice Zaslavsky shows how to get even more out of vegetables by varying cooking techniques. Besides steaming and blanching, you can also confit, sear, roast, fry, sauté, stew, or caramelize many vegetables. From radishes from the oven to this onion soup (without tears!): eating vegetables every day becomes three times as delicious with this cookbook.

Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
25 g butter
1 kg onions, unpeeled, halved lengthwise, tops and root ends removed
2 heads of garlic, unpeeled, halved horizontally
6 dried bay leaves
1/2 bunch of thyme, leaves picked, plus extra for serving
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp flaked salt
125 ml dry white wine
1 tbsp flour
1 l beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
1 tbsp sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 baguette, torn into large pieces or 4 pieces of stale bread
150 g Gruyère (or cheddar or aged Gouda), grated
chives, finely chopped, for serving

Alice: “Once upon a time, onion soup was considered food that was only suitable for peasants. Isn't it ironic that today onion soup is probably more often associated with the chicest French restaurants? This silky smooth, creamy soup is so much easier to make than the original version because there are no peels and no chopping involved. Indeed a luxury!”

How to make the onion soup

• Preheat the oven to 160 °C.
• Heat the extra virgin olive oil and butter in a large, flameproof baking dish over medium heat. Sauté the onions, garlic heads, bay leaves, thyme, allspice, black pepper, and flaked salt for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Stir in the dry white wine, cover the pot, and stew the onions and garlic for 1 hour or until soft.
• Scoop the garlic heads out of the pot, set them aside until cool enough to handle. Use kitchen tongs to remove the skins from the onions.
• Return the baking dish to medium heat. Sprinkle the flesh of the onions with flour and sauté the onions, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes until golden brown.
• Squeeze the garlic heads over the baking dish. Pour in the broth, vinegar, and 500 ml of water. Bring to a boil and let the soup simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced slightly.
• Preheat the oven grill to the highest setting. Place the pieces of bread on top of the soup and sprinkle with cheese and remaining thyme. Place the baking dish under the grill for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden and melted.
• Sprinkle the onion soup with chives and serve it immediately.

Title: An ode to vegetables
Author: Alice Zaslavsky
Price: €40
Publisher: Good Cook