• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • about Dom in the Kitchen
  • contact me
  • pr & demo’s
  • Private Dining

Dom in the Kitchen Homepage

Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

  • Home
  • Chicken Thighs
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Eggs
  • Vegetarian
  • Everything else

slow-cooked french onion soup

22 October 2014 by Dominic Franks

… it’s hurricane season here in the UK.  Well maybe that’s a teeny exaggeration but as I write this there’s the tail end of some tropical hurricane rushing past the window and it’s very strange… completely dark and lashing rain one minute then bright sunshine and strong winds the next.  It’s also the first day this autumn that i’ve properly felt chilled to the bone which i’m absolutely thrilled about. Don’t get me wrong, I love the summer but I don’t feel properly human until there’s that chill in the air, the thick sweaters have to come out of hiding and the fire has to be lit in the mornings… proper food can be eaten without thinking about the bikini body and I can start to dream of Halloween, Bonfire Night and then of course Christmas.  I also think it’s important for the health of the environment to have a proper chill and frost, it kills the bugs and the flies and settles everything back into its proper place… time for a rich and thick soup me’thinks…

slow-cooked french onion soup
I received a wonderful and very timely book to review this week. Slow Cooked by Miss South is a compendium of easy, thrifty and of course delicious recipes for slow cookers and it has completely opened my eyes the the joys of slow cooking.  What I love about the book is not only that it’s full of gorgeous ideas but that she’s clearly done a huge amount of research and recipe development to deliver some truly inspirational recipes that don’t just amount to lots of stews.  Did you know you could cook the most glorious, old-fashioned tasting baked potatoes in a slow-cooker, one that comes out brown and crispy or that you can bake puddings and cakes in it?  Call me naive but I had no idea.  The other great thing about the book is that it has very clear and concise instructions, nothing wishy-washy and Miss South explains why she’s doing each step so that you feel you understand the way the slow-cooker works and why it works… all in all I’m really enjoying the book and plan to cook a number of dishes from it so watch this space…

… I realise that not everyone has a slow-cooker so from now on on this blog, for every slow-cooker method I will include a short regular cooking method or a link back to a similar recipe where i’ve cooked the dish without a slow-cooker…

500g white onions – peeled, halved and thinly sliced
25g butter
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
900ml hot good quality vegetable stock (or beef stock)
100ml vermouth or white wine
25ml brandy (optional but excellent)

start by caramelising the onions by placing them in the slow-cooker with the butter and sugar, place the lid n and cook on low for 4 hours or up to 6 hours for a darker gold

after this stage add the chopped garlic, plain flour, mustard powder and salt and pepper and stir well to combine

pour over the stock and vermouth or white wine, stir again to make sure there are no lumps, put the lid back on and allow it to cook for another 4 hours.  Add the brandy (if using) 30 mins before serving

i’ve served my soup with some crouton rings that were invented by The Viking and are patent pending so I can’t divulge how they were made…, I also added plenty of strong grated emmental cheese

if you’re cooking this soup without the slow-cooker the most important bit is the caramelisation of the onions which can be done in a regular pan on a low heat, you’ll want to keep the onions gently sautéing away for a minimum of 30 minutes until they are a glorious golden brown before adding the rest of the ingredients and the simmering process needs to be at least another 30 mins… take a look at  a similar french onion soup I made on my blog last year.

Slow Cooked by Miss South is to be published by Ebury Press on 6th November and will retail at £14.99

even though I made The Vikings patented crouton rings this soup still qualifies for the No Croutons Required bloggers challenge hosted by Jaq from Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa from Lisa’s Kitchen

eat and of course, enjoy!

Share this post:

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share on E-mail

Filed Under: Everything else Tagged With: croutons, onion soup, onions, slow-cooked, slow-cooker, soup

Previous Post: « left-over raw vegetable cake – a random recipe
Next Post: halloween witches eye-balls and goblins bones »

Reader Interactions

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Comments

  1. Jacqueline Meldrum says

    4 November 2014 at 6:37 pm

    Nice looking bowl of soup Dom and I love the croutons rings on top. Thanks for linking up to No Croutons required. The roundup is now live.

  2. Margot Tries the Good Life says

    11 November 2014 at 8:11 pm

    Oh that does look delicious. I shall have to try that one from Miss South's book in my Everhot.

  3. Great data for San Antonio Movers website says

    6 June 2016 at 12:23 pm

    This is wonderful. Better than some restaurants. Flavors blend very well together. I followed the recipe word for word. I will probably use more onions next time as I love love love carmelized onions. I was so anxious to try this recipe I cooked it on the stove. I just could not wait. Next time I will be patient and do it in the slow cooker. Either way you make it it is a winner. I will be serving this quite often this winter.

Primary Sidebar

About Dom In The Kitchen

My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Dom In The Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe

Archives

Tweets by @DomInTheKitchen

as featured in Lincolnshire Life Magazine

Lincolnshire Life

creatively managed by

The Persuagers
Belleau Cottage

Footer

dominthekitchen

GIVEAWAY!!! - Win a @charbroil_uk BBQ and 2 cases GIVEAWAY!!! - Win a @charbroil_uk BBQ and 2 cases of wine for BBQ food-pairing from @beefsteakclubwines 

I’ve teamed up with barbecue expert, Char-Broil, and Beefsteak Club wines to provide one lucky winner with a BBQ party package of the Char-Broil Performance Pro 2-Burner compact gas barbecue (RRP: £449.99) plus two cases of Beefsteak Club wines!!

To be in with a chance of winning this mega BBQ prize, simply:

1) Follow @dominthekitchen @charbroil_uk and @beefsteakclubwines 

2) Like this post

3) Share this post

4) tag friends in the comments. One tag = one entry, so get tagging - the more the merrier!

Ts&Cs: Winner will be chosen at random and announced via my IG Stories once the competition has closed on Sunday 12th June at 11pm GMT.  Prize to be posted to a UK address only. This competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Instagram. No purchase necessary. Multiple entries allowed per person. Open to UK entrants aged 18 or over. 

#PRSample #competition #prize #giveaway #entertowin #bbq #wine #foodpairing #gift #food #foodie #foodiesofinstagram
#ad Jubilee Cakewiches with @guylian.uk Still sl #ad Jubilee Cakewiches with @guylian.uk 

Still slightly obsessed with these cakewiches which are basically cakes made into sandwiches and all topped off with the ultimate finishing touch - a beautiful Guylian SeaShell. 

#cakes #cake #cakesofinstagram #picnic #jubilee #celebration #party #partyfood #food #foodies #platinumjubilee
Tomato, Feta and Strawberry Salad with my Slightly Tomato, Feta and Strawberry Salad with my Slightly Pickled Pink Onions

I wanted to share the pics of this salad the moment I made it cos it’s just so vibrant and summery. 

The real star of the show are the amazing slightly pickled pink onions… but… (and I hate to be a tease) you’ll have to wait till next week for the recipe!

#salad #salads #tomatoes #feta #healthy #healthyfood #healthyeating #food #foodblogger #foodie #foodiesofinstagram #britainsbesthomecooks_
I love my garden for many reasons… #worldnakedg I love my garden for many reasons…

#worldnakedgardeningday2022 #garden #gardeninspiration #gardening #nakedgardeningday2022 #summer #muscles #gym
Apricot & Strawberry Frangipani Pudding (recipe be Apricot & Strawberry Frangipani Pudding (recipe below)

This pudding is like a bowlful of summer. It’s light and fruity and sweet and so easy to put together.  I think it’s also quite unexpected to serve a pudding when fresh fruit is in abundance and a simple fruit salad would suffice but that’s what I adore about this.  Plus, this pudding makes very good use of those punnet’s of strawberries that look great in the supermarket but in fact taste all spongy and gloopy when you get them home.

Here’s the #recipe:

🍓 200g butter
🍓 200g golden caster sugar
🍓 3 large free-range eggs
🍓 200g ground almonds
🍓 100g strawberries – quartered
🍓 4 apricots – sliced into wedges
🍓 the finely grated zest and juice of half a lemon
🍓 2 tablespoons @fage_uk Greek Yoghurt
🍓 1 teaspoon @little_pod Vanilla Bean Paste

I greased a 20cm fluted ceramic pie dish and pre-heated the oven to 160C

beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until light and creamy… a stand mixer will do this in 4 minutes, a hand held electric whisk will do it in 6 minutes and a wooden spoon will do it in 8 minutes.

add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of ground almonds and beat in, then add the rest of the ground almonds and gently beat in, followed by the Greek Yoghurt, lemon zest and juice, vanilla and half the strawberries and beat in – the strawberries will become mush – which is exactly what you want.

lay half the remaining fruit into the bottom of your dish and cover with the frangipane batter, then scatter the remaining fruit on top

bake for 45 mins or until darkly golden brown, then remove from the oven and let it cool to set

#pudding #summerfood #summer #strawberry #strawberries #apricot #frangipani #cake #cakesofinstagram #cakes #food #foodie #britainsbesthomecooks_
Potato Kugel Traybake with Poached Eggs and Mushro Potato Kugel Traybake with Poached Eggs and Mushrooms

Is there anything more ‘Sunday Brunch’ than a crispy rosti with a delicately fragile poached egg on top? This Traybake rosti is a twist on a Jewish potato cake made with potatoes, carrots and onion. It’s amazing and really does make the perfect brunch. 

What are you having for brunch today?

for the kugel:
🍳 5 medium potatoes
🍳 2 large onions
🍳 2 large carrots – roughly grated
🍳 2 eggs – beaten
🍳 2 tablespoons flour
🍳 salt and pepper
🍳 a large handful of fresh rosemary
🍳 2 tablespoons of olive oil

for the poached eggs:
🥚 2 eggs per person
🥚 water
🥚 salt
🥚 a ramekin or similar

pre-heat the oven to 180C and butter your baking tin… i’m using an oblong swiss roll tin but any metal pan will do, a quiche or tarte tin is good.  Earthenware will work too but there’s something about the metal tin that makes it more ‘roasty’

Cut the potatoes and carrots into large chunks and par-boil till just beginning to yeald, drain and place in the fridge for one hour.  I usually do mine the night before.

Once the potatoes and carrots are cold, grate them and add them with the rest if the ingredients to a large bowl and mix together well.

Tip into your cake tin or roasting tray and roast in the oven on 190C till golden and grisp around the edges, roughly 40 mins

To make the poached eggs I prefer to use my large shallow cast-iron casserole dish.  There’s something about the cast-iron that holds the heat and cooks them evenly.  Fill the pan with water and heat it till it’s rapidly boiling, then turn down the heat until it is just steaming. 

Once it’s steadily hot with no bubbles lower the eggs into the hot water and leave them alone at this exact heat.  They should take about 5 minutes to become perfect with soft yolks but feel free to go until you like them.

#rosti #breakfast #brunch #sunday #eggs #poachedeggs #food #foodie #foodiesofinstagram #breakfastideas #britainsbesthomecooks_
Load More… Follow on Instagram

&copy 2010 - 2021 | All rights reserved | Website by Peckish Digital