Swiss Onion Soup with Gruyere Toasts. After living in Switzerland this dish became a favourite of mine – it’s quick, easy and delicious. While gruyere is the traditional cheese to melt on the toasts, you can use another creamy, salty cheese if you like – cheddar is fine too.
Swiss Onion Soup with Gruyere Toasts
Serves 4–6
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
a generous splash of olive oil
20 g butter
5 large brown onions, sliced into thin rings
2 litres simple chicken stock
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
4–6 thick slices crusty bread (totally fine if it’s a day old)
4–6 generous slices gruyere
2 large handfuls of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Method
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over low heat until the butter has melted. Add the onion and cook for 20 minutes or until tender, sweet and golden. Stir in the stock, and season to taste with salt and pepper, then pulse a few times with a stick blender until creamy but still chunky.
- Preheat an overhead grill to high. Grill one side of the bread slices until golden, then flip and top with the gruyere. Grill for another 1–2 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and rest the gruyere toasts on top. Scatter over loads of parsley and finish with an extra grinding of pepper.
Notes:
For the bread, you want a crusty loaf that’s between the width size of a baguette and a luncheon load- ciabatta is ideal. It just needs to be a substantial slice that will fit inside your bowl.
The Doctor’s Diet by Sandro Demaio is published by Macmillan Australia, RRP $34.99.