It’s bloody cold in London right now, and add hangovers into the mix from all the Christmas partying, you need some seriously restorative food to get you back on an even keel. This French onion soup ticks all the boxes in terms of comforting, warming and tasty sustenance, and will have you ready for that next session of festive boozing before you can say zut alors!

Ingredients

Olive oil

Large nob of butter

1kg of onions

5 fat cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

70ml French brandy

150ml French white wine

750ml chicken stock

750ml beef stock

Plenty of freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of salt

For the croutons:

French bread, sliced on the diagonal and toasted

1 clove garlic

Grated Gruyere cheese

Method

Peel and half the onions, and then slice them finely. Melt the butter and the oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan or casserole dish, and then add the onions, garlic, thyme and salt and fry them slowly on a medium heat. The idea is to sweat the onions down and cook them until they become golden, sticky and sweet. This will take a good 15  minutes.

When you’ve got to this point, add the brandy and set light to it to burn off the harsh alcohol. This will start to deepen the flavour of the soup. Next add the white wine, and de-glaze the pan, scraping off any sticky bits from the bottom and around the sides. You’re now ready to add the stock, do this and bring up to simmering point. Taste, and add salt / freshly ground black pepper as you prefer. The soup needs about another 15-20 minutes simmering to reduce a bit and let the flavour develop.

Whilst the soup is simmering, get your grill on as high as it will go. Cut your French bread on the diagonal in centimetre thick slices, and lightly toast on both sides. Once done, cut a clove of garlic in half, and rub all over one side of the toasted bread. Then grate a bunch of the Gruyere.

When the soup is ready, ladle it into what ever bowls you are going to eat it from. Cover the surface of the soup with the garlic croutons, sprinkle on a good quantity of the grated Gruyere and then pop under the grill.

The soups are ready to eat once the Gruyere is bubling, and the edges of the croutons have gone dark brown (be careful not to burn them). Serve with a final grinding of black pepper.