French Onion & Bacon Soup With Cheesy Date Toasts
This indulgent soup is packed with flavour. You'll simmer caramelised onion and crunchy bacon lardons in a rich beef stock before serving with molten cheddar and date toasts. Perfect.
Ingredients for 2 people
Cooking for 3? 1 and a half for each ingredient Cooking for 4? Double each ingredient
You'll also need
Butter, Flour, Olive oil, Pepper, Salt, Sugar, Water (or dietary alternatives)
Cooking instructions
Instructions for 2 [for 3] [for 4] portion recipe.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7 and boil half a kettle
Heat a large, wide-based pot with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-high heat, then once hot, add your bacon lardons and cook for 5-6 min or until golden and crisp
Meanwhile, peel and finely slice your brown onion[s] and garlic
Once golden, remove the crispy bacon lardons from the pot (reserve the pot!) and set aside for later
Return the reserved pot to a medium heat and add the sliced onion, sliced garlic, a knob of butter, 100ml [130ml] [175ml] boiled water and a generous pinch of salt
Use one thyme sprig (or a piece of string) to tie a knot around your thyme and rosemary sprigs and add to the pot
Cook for 15 min or until the onion is very soft, stirring frequently
Meanwhile, slice your ciabatta[s] into 5 thin slices per person
Add the ciabatta slices to a baking tray (or two!) with a generous drizzle of olive oil
Put the tray[s] in the oven and cook for 7-8 min or until the ciabatta is toasted and golden
Once done, remove the tray[s] from the oven and set aside until later
Chop your dates roughly
Slice your cheddar cheese into 5 thin slices per person
Wash your salad, then pat it dry with kitchen paper
Reboil a full kettle
Once the onion has cooked for 15 min, increase the heat to medium-high and add 2 tsp [3 tsp] [4 tsp] sugar
Cook for 10-12 min further or until caramelised
Tip: Watch them like a hawk and stir frequently to make sure they don't burn!
Once the onion has caramelised, add 2 tbsp [3 tbsp] [4 tbsp] flour to the pot and cook for 1 min
Add 700ml [1.1L] [1.4L] boiled water, your beef stock mix, Henderson's Relish and the crispy bacon lardons to the pot, and bring to a boil over a high heat
Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-high and simmer for 5 min or until the soup has thickened, then take the pot off the heat
Discard the rosemary & thyme sprigs and season very generously with salt and pepper – this is your French onion & bacon soup
Set the soup aside for 4-5 min to allow the flavours to develop
Meanwhile, top the toasted ciabatta slices with the cheddar slices and chopped dates and return the baking tray to the oven for 3-4 min or until the cheese has melted – these are your cheesy date toasts
To serve, spoon the French onion & bacon soup into a bowl and top with a few of the cheesy date toasts
Drizzle your red wine vinegar and a little olive oil over the washed salad and serve to the side with the remaining cheesy date toasts
Enjoy!
Nutritional information
Nutritional information only applies to ingredients supplied by Gousto.
serving
The cooking process and additional ingredients added at home (listed under “You'll also need”) will affect total values.
Allergens
Allergens highlighted by † (gluten, milk, sulphites).
In addition to the recipe specific allergen information provided, due to production and packing methods Gousto boxes may also contain low levels of the following allergens: Cereals containing gluten; Crustaceans; Eggs; Fish; Peanuts; Soya; Milk; Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts; Celery; Sesame; Sulphur dioxide and Sulphites; Lupin; Molluscs; Mustard.
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