No snow but very cold at our gite in Creuse.

We have had no more snow and Christmas was sadly not at white one here in Creuse. Can't win them all but the weather is certainly making up for it. The temperature has plummeted and although it has not snowed we have had hailstones. I have just had some fun and games with the animals when I went to let them out. Our top male rabbit who is called Buck would you believe had escaped and it took 10 minutes and several trips round the male rabbit enclosure before he was tempted back in with a huge curly cabbage leaf.

Job done and just about to congratulate myself when I noticed that one of the other males had escaped whilst I was chasing Buck. He did not put up much resistance and was easily captured. On to the chickens to let them out and try and catch a couple of mad chickens that have been out all night. The chickens must have a death wish as they keep escaping in the late afternoons. There are too many Monsieur Reynard's (Foxes) in the area to make that a wise idea. I chase them back in and they escape again dooooh. They love getting in to the front garden and after several times round the garden via the caravan or the bushes I frequently give up.

Because the weather is so cold at the moment it is perfect for making tasty winter soups for lunch time and having noticed that we have a lot of onions knocking around I have decided to make a French Onion soup. Not one of those wishy washy ones that you sometimes get but one that is virtually all onion and only a little juice to complement it.

The recipe if you can call it a recipe is very simple. Take at least 10 medium onions / 6 or 7 if large. (red onions can also be used) Peel and remove the core of the onions and slice. Place in a suitable sized container a soak in red wine for at least 1 hour. (The red wine can be drained off afterwards and used in the stock.) Add a bay leaf and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce if you have some to the onions and red wine.




The stock for the soup can be made from any stock cubes you have to hand but a beef one would be better. To your stock add 2/3 bay leaves, a little sage, a twig of fresh rosemary if you have some in the garden and a hint of chili powder & paprika to give it a little bit of a bite. A pinch of garlic powder( fresh or paste) can also be added to the stock along with a good dollop of red wine (use the wine from the soaking onions). Use up any bits and bobs of red wine that you might have left over or white wine if that is all you have. Place the stock pan on the stove and bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to simmer. If you have the time we ideally want the stock to reduce down by at least half to give the soup plenty of body.

With the onions soaking and the stock reducing it is time to look for the other ingredients that will make this soup stand out from the normal run of the mill onion soups in my opinion. The price of food being what it is these days means that most people can not afford to waste food and go out and buy items of food that do not have a dual role. Cheese is one of them and also what we need to finish off the soup with. Take what ever cheese you like or have left over and grate. If you have it add some Parmesan cheese and mix with grated bread. A bit fiddly and a danger to the finger tips but any bread that you have that is not as fresh as you would like will do. Dried breadcrumbs are a good substitute.

We will also need some more bread and this can be unsliced or sliced. An Unsliced loaf, cob or a fat french stick would be better but sliced bread can be used. Due to the way Artisans make fresh bread in France it does not have any shelf life and so we always have bread left over that is excellent for grating and toasting. Nothing gets wasted and any left over gets fed to the chickens and geese. Time to drain the onions and add the wine to your stock. Put a little butter & oil/olive and garlic to taste in a deep sided pan and when hot add your onions. Stir with a wooden spoon until nicely sweatted and leave to cook down on a low light. Your stock should have reduced down by half now and after being sieved can be added to the onions. Do not add to much stock. Add enough to cover the onions plus 1 pint of extra stock. A slug of Brandy/Port/Madeira is optional. Then return to the heat and reduce down further. Any extra stock can be saved for another day.

You should end up with a fairly thick onion soup. For serving the soup a high sided soup bowl is ideal but the traditional flatter soup bowl will be OK. If using a high side bowl ladle the soup into the bowl 3/4 full. Slice, cut or carve a thick chunk of bread and place on the top of the soup so it seals in the soup and is more or less level with the top of the bowl. Cover the chunk of bread with your grated cheese mix and sprinkle with paprika and herbs of your choice. Place the bowl/s of soup on an flat baking tray and bake in the oven or glaze under the grill. When then topping is golden brown serve with extra bread/garlic bread for a virtual meal in it self.



If you only have shallow bowls for the soup slice, cut, or carve a thick chunk of bread, coat with cheese mix and glaze under the grill. When the topping is all brown and golden fill your bowl with soup and float your chunk of bread on top of your soup and serve as above. The good thing about this soup is that if you leave it to go cold and re-heat it the next day it increases the flavour. Sort of like a meat stew or casserole where they always seem to taste better when cooked for a second time.

Just of late I have been using and eating a lot of vegetables. The way the price of meat in France is going might force any one to turn vegetarian. Not that there is anything wrong with being a vegetarian. In fact there are many tasty and delicious recipes for food that does not include meat. In my work as a chef I have had the pleasure to cater for all manner of vegetarians and their tastes but on a few occasions I have had deal with the 'Vegetarian from Hell'. There was this lady who........I will tell you all about her in another post.

Keep warm and bye for now.