WITH GARLIC TOASTS
- SERVES: 6
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cooking time: 1 hour
For the soup:
3 tablespoons light olive oil or
vegetable oil
6 medium white onions (approx.
600g), thinly sliced
1 medium leek (approx. 250g),
trimmed and finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon agave syrup or sugar
2 tablespoons buckwheat flour (for
gluten-free option) or plain
or spelt flour
500ml white wine
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon mustard, preferably Dijon 2 bay leaves
1 litre vegetable stock
- For the garlic toasts:
- 1 baguette, or 6 slices gluten-free bread (allow 1 slice per serving)
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- or melted plant-based butter
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped
- fresh parsley pinch sea salt
Made with slow-cooked onions and topped with lucious garlic croutons, this soup is perfect for a cold autumn night.
To make the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the sliced onions, then turn down the heat to low, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the leek and the garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Take the lid off, then add the syrup or sugar and allow it to cook very gently for a further 30 minutes, stirring often. You don’t want the onions to go crisp, just golden brown and nicely caramelised.
Now stir in the flour, coating the onions, and heat through for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the white wine, thyme, mustard and bay leaves and bring to a gentle bubble. Then slowly pour in the vegetable stock and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
To make the garlic toasts, cut the bread into 2cm-thick slices. In a small bowl, mix the oil or butter with the crushed garlic, chopped parsley and a pinch of sea salt.
Grill the slices of bread on one side, then turn them over and spread the garlic mixture on to the other side. Put back under the grill, garlicky side up, for a few minutes until toasted.
Ladle or spoon the onion soup into bowls. Lay the garlic toasts on top of the hot onion soup and serve immediately.