French Onion Soup

Another classic! This soup I actually know, because of my aunt. She was always making the best onion soup! It was soooooo yumy! And that cheese on top with toasted baguette? Just pure heaven!

French Onion Soup

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour 15 mins Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Ingredients

• 5-6x big onions (yellow or red), sliced

• 5 tablespoons of olive oil

• 2x tablespoons of clarified butter

• 1x teaspoon of sugar

• pinch of salt

• 2-3 bay leaves

• 1 handful fresh thyme sprigs

• ½ bottle of white wine (more dry, then sweet)

• 3x garlic cloves, peeled and chopped finely or minced

• 750-900ml of beef broth or vegetable broth (in original recipe is with beef broth)

• pepper

• baguette

• cheese - Gruyère, parmesan

Prepare everything around you.

Take a big pot, heat it up on a medium high heat with olive oil and butter. Add sliced onions, garlic, pinch of salt, sugar, bay leaves, thyme sprigs and simmer on low heat until onions are soft and caramelized – around 20 mins.

Add wine and simmer, until almost all wine evaporate – around 15 mins.

After that, add stock and leave it to simmer for around 35-40 mins. Get rid of bay leaves and thyme. Check if it needs some extra salt and pepper. If you prefere your soup more thick, take a mug, filled it in 1/3 part with water, add some flour, mix it very good (it’s important!), add some soup to it first and then slowly start adding that liquid into your soup. Bring to boil, check how it taste.

Now you have two options of serving:

1. Easy one – make pieces of toasted baguette with melted cheese on top and serve it with a bowl of soup. Sprinkle with fresh thyme.

2. Spectacular way – take oven safe bowls, fill them with soup, each of them cover with 2x slices of baguette sprinkle with some olive oil and covered with cheese. Bake it in the oven for around 4-5 mins, to let the cheese melt. Enjoy!

Poached Eggs with Asparagus

I can only say – classic, from all the classics recipes! Since we have a season for asparagus, make it for your friends, family and loved ones around you or just for yourself :) It’s so good! And extremely easy! :)

Poached Eggs with Asparagus

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 1x bread roll/ slice of baguette

• couple slices of parmesan cheese

• couple asparagus

• 1x poached egg

• olive oil

• garlic

• salt and pepper

1. Bread: Preheat oven for 200C or electric grill or grill pan. When it’s ready you can cover piece of bread roll/ baguette with some olive oil and make a toast. When it’s nice and gold take 1x garlic clove and rub garlic into bread roll.

2. Egg: In the meantime make Al’s Poached Egg.

3. Asparagus: Take a pan filled it with water and bring to boil. Take fresh asparagus into your hands and holding each of them in the end break it easily. You will see how far from the end of asparagus you need to take, to break it. But don’t go more then half! When water is boiling, add pinch of salt and blanch your asparagus in it for around 3 – 4 mins. That’s enough for them :) (If you would like to use them later on, have the bowl filled with ice cubes ready and just move asparagus after blanched from boiling water to ice cubes with water).

4. Making: Take your lovely crunchy piece of bread, add couple slices of parmesan, put your asparagus on it and cover with freshly made poached egg. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Quick Pita

Couple weeks back, I was tired, hungry and getting grumpy, waiting on a train. I was just walking around the train station and I saw something that I couldn’t resist. It was a lovely, crunchy piece of fresh baguette with some cheese and rocket salad on top. When I ask what is it – it was baguette with goat’s cheese, fig jam and salad. And it was divine! Something you really need to try!

Quick Pita

Prep time: 3 mins Cook time: 2 mins Total time: 5 mins

Ingredients

• 1x pita bread or baguette

• 1x handful of arugula/ rocket/ rucola salad

• some good quality goat's cheese (but not too intense in smell)

• fig jam or apricot jam - it just need to be more sour then sweet

So that’s easy – toast your pita bread. Then inside spread with jam, sprinkle with goat’s cheese and rocket salad. Yeaaaah! That’s how easy it is! I just love it! Enjoy! :)