Name: Onion and bacon soup with mustard and cheese crust
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 140 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 100 gm butter, coarsely chopped; 2 kg onions, thinly sliced; 200 gm speck, cut into 1cm pieces; 1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock; 10 sage leaves, finely chopped; 1 fresh bay leaf; 6 thick slices ciabatta, toasted; 300 gm coarsely grated cheddar; 1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Onion and bacon soup with mustard and cheese crust

Recipe for French-style onion and bacon soup with mustard and cheese crust.

Serves 6

Prep

20M

Cook

Total

2H 20M

This is a twist on the classic French onion soup. It never ceases to amaze me how wonderfully complex the flavour of onion can be when it’s given the time to fully unfurl. Don’t try to shorten the cooking time – patience brings rewards.

Ingredients

100 gm butter, coarsely chopped

2 kg onions, thinly sliced

200 gm speck, cut into 1cm pieces

1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock

10 sage leaves, finely chopped

1 fresh bay leaf

6 thick slices ciabatta, toasted

300 gm coarsely grated cheddar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Method

Main

1.Melt butter in a large wide saucepan over low heat, add onions and speck, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very soft (20-25 minutes). Remove lid and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until starting to caramelise (50 minutes to 1 hour). Add ½ cup stock and simmer until almost evaporated (4-5 minutes), then repeat three times. Add remaining stock, sage and bay leaf, season to taste, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, scraping the base of the pan occasionally to remove any caramelised bits, until thick (8-10 minutes).

2.Preheat oven to 200C. Ladle soup into 1½-cup ovenproof bowls and transfer to an oven tray. Place a slice of toast on top of each. Mix cheese and mustard in a bowl and spoon a layer over the toast and soup. Bake until golden and bubbling (4-5 minutes) and serve.