English onion and sage soup with smoked

cheddar crouton
A delicious, healthy and warming midweek lunch snack or light supper

Serves 8

 Ingredients:

6 white onions, peeled and roughly chopped

4 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped

4 large shallots (banana shallots if you can get them)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

Bunch of sage leaves, roughly chopped

2 pints of chicken or beef stock

1 tbsp brown sugar

50ml sherry

Knob of butter

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

For the Croutons:

8 slices of good thick bread (preferably stale), 2cm thick (NB: if your using French stick, allow 2 pieces per person

200g smoked cheddar, grated

Method:

• In a large saucepan, melt the butter with a little olive oil and add the garlic and sage     and stir for a few minutes before adding the onions and season with salt and pepper 
• Allow them to cook on a low heat for 40minutes until they soften -  stir occasionally so they don’t catch the bottom and gain too much colour
• In the last 10 minutes, add the sugar and remove the lid to allow the onions to golden
• Add the stock and sherry and bring the whole lot to the boil and then turn the heat down for 15 minutes
• Season to taste
• For the croutons, toast the bread on each side and add the grated cheese. Now you can either :

-    place these under the grill until the cheese is bubbling and golden and then add them    to the soup before serving

 or

-    preheat the oven, ladle the soup into bowls, place the croutons with the grated cheese on top and put on a baking tray and into the oven until the cheese has melted.