Onion soup with cheese toasts

Ingredients

• 50g butter
• 1kg onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 litre stock
• 250ml dry white wine
• 200g processed cheese (such as Dzintars)
• 1 bay leaf (fresh or dried)
• 2 thyme sprigs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
   

To serve

• baguette or white bread, sliced
• 100g semi-hard cheese, grated

Method

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook on a low heat for 15–20 mins, stirring occasionally, until soft, golden and caramelised.
2. Stir in the garlic and flour and cook for 1 min more.
3. Pour in the stock and wine, then add the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 20 mins.
4. Stir in the processed cheese until melted. The soup is ready to serve, but for a fuller flavour you can remove it from the heat and leave it to rest for about 30 mins. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs before serving.
5. Scatter grated cheese over slices of baguette or white bread and bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and the bread is crisp.
6. Traditionally, the bread is placed directly in the soup bowl, but if you prefer the croutons to stay crisp, serve them separately.