Soup for your Soul and Waistline

    Hi chefs, we are back into the swing of things following the busy holiday season. As I'm sure you can all agree the weather has been dismal with all this rain and chilly nights. Not to worry though, as we have a double recipe for you this week with two really flavourful soups to brighten up your evenings and warm up even the coldest fingers and toes. Either soup can be made in our  Perfect Pans or the Lloytron Soup Maker we currently have on offer this month for £79.99 with FREE shipping and a FREE recipe book.

 

French Onion Soup

This recipe is best done in the Crafond or Perfect Pans Stock Pots.

Ingredients:

80g butter, plus a little extra for the toasts

4 onions, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tbsp plain flour

3 sprigs thyme, leaves picked

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

400ml medium cider

600ml good-quality beef stock

Dash of calvados or other brandy

8 slices of baguette

1 clove of garlic, halved

100g Gruyère, grated

Method:

Pour a few tablespoons of sunflower or rapeseed oil into a Crafond Stock Pot and set on a low heat. Add the onions, season and cook, stirring regularly, until caramelised and deep brown. (Once they've softened, you can turn up the heat a little, but keep an eye on them.) This will probably take between 90 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on your nerve.

Stir in the flour and thyme and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, then add the vinegar and a third of the cider, stirring constantly. Whisk in the rest of the cider and the stock, and bring to the boil. Simmer for about an hour. Meanwhile, heat the grill and rub the baguette slices with the cut side of the garlic clove. Brush with melted butter, and toast on both sides.

Add the brandy to the soup and check the seasoning. To serve, ladle into ovenproof dishes and top with 2 croutons and a mound of cheese. Grill until golden, and then serve immediately.

Onion and Almond Soup

This recipe is best done in the 7ltr 6 in 1 Soup Maker found on our website.

Ingredients

1 onion very finely chopped

½ tsp sea salt

sunflower or rapeseed oil. 

100g almonds (with skin on)

750 ml hot chicken stock

60g butter

¼ tsp nigella seeds

4 large onions diced

1 red chili chopped

1tsp muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar

1tbsp balsamic vinegar

120 ml single cream 

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

Optional fried onion garnish:

 

Put onion slices in a shallow dish and sprinkle with sea salt, then set to one side for at least 2 hours. This dries out all the moisture in the onion. Using your hands squeeze out any excess liquid and pat dry with kitchen towel. Fry the onions in hot oil in a Sauté or sauce pot for 1-2 minutes until golden then drain on kitchen paper.

 

Bring a sauce pot to boil, add the almonds. Turn off the heat and cover with lid. Leave to soak for 15 minutes then drain and slip off the skins when the almonds are cool enough to handle.

 

Put 200ml of chicken stock, almonds, butter, nigella seeds, diced onions, sugar, vinegar into the soup maker and turn on to the smooth setting for approximately 30 minutes. 

 

Add the rest of the stock, cream and salt and pepper to taste and turn back on the soup maker for approximately another 20-30 minutes on the smooth setting. 

 

Serve garnished with the fried onions.


Don't miss us at our upcoming shows and exhibitions, check out our calendar for locations!

Recipes taken and adapted from:
Onion and Almond Soup-Roopa Gulati
French Onion Soup- Guardian Recipes