On the surface this is a very simple dish, but it
only really shines with a boldly rich stock, sweet, slow-caramelised onions and
lots of patience. We like to mix in dry white wine with and a
pleasantly-hoppy-but-not-too-strong Indian Pale Ale, the latter giving the soup
a bit of bite and marrying well with the savoury Comté toasts. If you don’t
particularly like the hoppy (slightly bitter) flavour of an IPA, replace it
with more beef stock – which has to be the real deal, no cubes here
please.
Serves four for lunch or as a robust starter
750g Roscoff onions, peeled
65g beef dripping or butter
500ml proper beef stock
200ml lightish IPA (nothing too gutsy)
200ml dry white wine
100ml water
Sea salt and black pepper
To assemble
4 sliced of baguette, around 2cm thick
120g Comté, grated
A little butter
1.
Firstly, get ready to cry: although these onions
have a beautifully sweet flavour, they still have a sting in their raw
state, and you’ve got a lot of chopping to do. Cut each onion in half, and
slice across the width of the onion to make lots of very fine semi circles,
around 1-2mm wide. This gives you lots of surface area to get good
caramelisation.
2.
Put a large, wide saucepan or stockpot over a
low heat and slowly melt the butter.
3.
Add the onions and a few good pinches of sea
salt, stir well and let them gently cook, stirring every 5-8 minutes or so.
4.
After half an hour, the onions should be quite
soft but still fairly white; turn the heat up just a little, watching the
onions don’t burn or colour too quickly – you’ve still got about another hour
of slow caramelisation to go so grab a book and a beer and keep stirring
occasionally, scrubbing at the base of the pan with a wooden spoon to release any sticky bits.
5.
When the onions have a very soft, sticky and
almost jam-like consistency and a deep golden brown colour, add the remaining
ingredients, and healthy pinch of salt, a few twists of pepper and simmer
gently for 45 minutes. After simmering, taste and add salt and pepper to taste
- remember that the Comte will add a good umami kick to the finished dish.
6.
To assemble, lightly toast the baguette slices,
just enough to dry them out a little.
Spread a very small amount of butter on both sides. Ladle the soup
between four heatproof bowls, and add a baguette slice to each one (if you like
the bread really soft, turn the slice over so that both sides have been in
contact with the soup). Cover liberally with the grated Comté, and place under
a hot grill for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve immediately, and be
careful not to burn your fingers.
You'll be able to buy some of the ingredients from us this weekend, but because some of our shops are near fantastic cheesemongers or greengrocers, not everything will be everywhere.
Hackney: Comté, stock and onions
Askew Road: Comté, stock and onions
Moxon street: stock and onions
Borough Market: stock
Bon Appétit!
