Henry Harris’ French onion and parsley soup. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Henry Harris’ French onion and parsley soup. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian Food Henry Harris’ vegetarian recipe for French onion and parsley soup A thick and creamy, flavourful onion soup topped with grated cheese and herbs
Prefer the Guardian on Google W hen I was a child, my mother often made onions in white sauce to serve with roast lamb. I loved their thick, velvety texture and how they brought richness, sweetness and even more savouriness to a good Sunday lunch. A similarly thick tangle of onions features in the classic soupe à l’oignon gratinée, which can’t really be mimicked without a deep, dark, beefy stock, so rather than even try, it’s best to introduce another layer of flavour entirely. The parsley here yields a very different end result that also proves to be rather comforting.
125g unsalted butter 6 large onions , peeled and finely sliced Salt and black pepper 2 bay leaves 1 litre vegetable stock 250ml double cream 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley , picked 75g emmental (suitable for vegeatarians), finely grated 4 tbsp croutons
Melt the butter in a large, heavy pan on a medium heat, then add the sliced onions. Season generously with pepper and a little salt, add the bay leaves, then cover and leave to cook gently for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring regularly, until the onions have sweated down to the softest vegetable mass – you want to take them to the point when, were you to squeeze them in your hands, they would turn to a pulp.
Add the stock, simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the cream and cook for another five minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
At the very last minute, finely chop the parsley, stir it into the soup and ladle immediately into warmed bowls. Serve topped with the grated cheese and a few croutons.
Henry Harris is chef/co-owner of Bouchon Racine , London EC1. His book, The Racine Effect, is published by Quadrille at £40. To order a copy for £36, go to guardianbookshop.com