Brown Onion & Garlic Broth

Yield 6-8

Author Steven Farhall

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Brown onion & garlic broth

This is a vegetarian version of the classic french onion soup. We use a combination of a brown mushroom stock & marmite to give the soup a great depth of flavour. The key to this recipe is patience! The onions needs time to cook down and caramelise then you're on for a winning winter warming dish, made from the humblest of ingredients.

Ingredients

For the soup

• 500g brown onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or grated
• 200g good quality butter
• 2 tbsp thyme (leaves only)
• Sea salt
• 125g chestnut mushrooms
• 1 vegetable stock jelly/cube
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon marmite
• Cracked black pepper

Instructions

To prepare the soup

1. In a thick bottomed pan melt the butter and add the sliced onions, garlic & thyme leaves
2. Add about tablespoon of sea salt (the salt will help draw out the water from the onions)
3. Slowly cook over a low-medium heat for about 45 minutes (the time will vary depending on how much water is in the onions and the heat of the stove. You don't want to brown the onions too quickly. You need to slowly cook them out so all the moisture evaporates, the onions will become more slurry like then they will start to turn brown and caramelise with the butter
4. In a high powered blender, blend the chestnut mushrooms with 600ml water and the veg stock jelly/cube to a thin puree
5. Optional step - If you prefer a lighter, clear soup, you can strain this puree through a muslin cloth to achieve a clear stock and discard the solids
6. Add the tomato puree to the caramelised onions/garlic and add the mushroom mixture
7. Cook over a low heat for 5-10 minutes
8. Add the marmite and stir in.
9. Season the soup with cracked black pepper
10. If the soup is too strong or thick slowly add water until you achieve the consistency and taste you like. You shouldn't need any additional salt as the marmite and stock jelly will naturally season the soup.
11. Enjoy with a slice of toasted sourdough with grilled cheese sauce on top. If you want to fancy this up make a rarebit cheese sauce (just add some mustard powder and and glug of ale to your cheese sauce) Don't skimp on the cheese! use a good quality cheddar or we use a traditional Gruyere.