Jamie Oliver's English Onion Soup with Cheddar

Go ahead, accuse me of cookbook monotony. I know what you're thinking: Another Jamie Oliver recipe? After you just gave us one last week? Goodness gracious, woman, you haven't been blogging long enough to start so blatantly cooking from a single cookbook. What's the deal?

The deal, I tell you, is twofold:
1) There's only so much time a girl can spare for sifting for new recipes when the big thesis is due in T-minus 6 weeks.
2) Jamie at Home is that fantastic of a cookbook.


Plus, this recipe is all about slow cooking a variety of onions until they are soft and flavorful. I can't resist onions like this -- and, in my opinion, you should love slow-cooked caramelized onions, too -- so really, you have no legitimate reason to fault me for blogging this particular treat of a soup recipe today. None at all.

It's snowing here again. Silly Punxsatawney Phil and his ability to accurately predict more winter. Oh well; at least I've given you a hearty, tasty onion soup to brave the coming weeks.


English Onion Soup with Cheddar
adapted from Jamie at Home

butter
olive oil
3 cloves garlic
herbs
2 red onions, sliced
2 large white onions, sliced
6 oz leeks, sliced
sea salt and ground pepper
1 qt beef stock
bread for croquettes
fresh grated Cheddar
Worcestershire sauce

Sweat the onion in a heavy-bottomed French oven in the butter and olive oil, with the herbs, salt and pepper, for 50 minutes with the lid barely ajar, then an additional 20 minutes uncovered. When the onions are right (soft and getting translucent but not really coloring too much), add the beef stock to the pot and bring it to a boil. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes.
Toast the bread, then use it as a lid for the bowled soup. Top the bread with a bit of Worcestershire and some grated Cheddar, then broil it (only if your soup bowls are broiler safe) until bubbling and golden.
Note: Jamie's recipe calls for shallots as well, but try as I might I can't find them at my Kroger. And I refuse to shop at WalMart. I'm sure the wonderful flavor of this soup would be even more complex with the shallots, so let me know if you use them!