French Onion Soup

After my last unhealthy cooking recipe, here's one to balance the cosmic scales, French Onions Soup. I mean, Onions are a member of the same family as garlic, and garlic is brimful of goodness. And it keeps vampires away too.

Once again I've delved into Lloyd Grossman's The 125 Best Recipes Ever this time a contribution from Patience Gray and Primrose Boyd's cookery book Plats Du Jour.

Ingredients

About 50g/2oz butter or beef dripping

450g/1lb sliced Spanish Onions

1 small Bay Leaf

1 clove

Salt, Pepper and Brown Sugar

2 Pints of Beef Stock (I tend to use shop bought boullion for convenience)

Some dried slices of Bread

Grated cheese (if possible Gruyere)

Preparation

Melt most of the butter with a little oil in a pan and fry gently until golden

Add the bay leaf, salt pepper and brown sugar then crumble in the knob of the clove.

Heat the Beef Stock and add it to the onions. Simmer for at least half an hour and enjoy the oniony smell wafting through your house.

About 10 minutes before you plan to eat, fry the dry bread slices in another pan. When golden sprinkle the grated cheese on top and put in the bottom of your soup bowls. Pour in the soup and serve more grated chees on the side (there goes the healthy part of the dish). Alternatively, float your bread bits on the soup while still in the pan, sprinkle on the cheese and let it bubble. The heat will slowly melt the cheese. When it has melted, remove carefully to your bowls and again ladle over the soup.

The steriotypical frenchman, as seen on Alo Alo, is normally portrayed with a string of onions around there neck. Having eaten this soup I can understand why.