FRENCH ONION SOUP/WIN A CARTON OF SYRAH WINE

FRENCH ONION SOUP

INGREDIENTS

·         4 Medium to Large onions

·         Oil

·         Sugar               ½ teaspoon

·         Black pepper  

·         Salt to taste

THE DUCOURT ESTATES AND MY FRENCH ONION SOUP

One of the biggest exports from Bordeaux is wine and there is no way you get to visit Bordeaux, France that you do not get drawn in to the whole wine atmosphere, the beautiful vineyards adorning the country sides are a sight to behold.

Having visited Chateau Lagarette, it was time to visit the Ducourt Vineyards. I met Jonathan Ducourt at a private dinner at the prestigious La Tupina which was hosted by Chef Jean-Pierre Xiradakis, we had a super evening on that Dining table located in his cellar.

Amidst lots of chats, I was enlightened on the wine business in Bordeaux, Jonathan and Jean Pierre have some wine partnership going for them and need I forget the pretty Lily Li Juan, winner of the musical competition “the Voice” China. She was on that table also filling me in on international business, The Voice and making the evening worth the while.

So, I set out some days later to visit Jonathan’s Ducourt wine Estate, I was awed, I was thoroughly awed, from meeting other members of the Family, to seeing the Factory, walking down the Garden, the flowers, ooh I must not forget the fountain with the gold fishes, the free range chickens and the robust pumpkins…. The Ducourt Estate is definitely somewhere I would like to visit again. The scenery is so cool that movie makers actually use the estate for their movie locations

Jonathan took his time to enlighten me on wine making and the process of making Rose really caught my fancy (as my Naija music artists won’t stop singing about Rose). Anyway, as I learnt the processes, we were wine-tasting alongside. I had so much fun at this over 100 year’s old winery, which has passed down from generation to generation, still waxing strong and willing to expand beyond borders.

I got inspired in so many ways but one of my inspirations is making French Onion soup with some wine, so I will share this recipe with ya. Meanwhile watch this video and tell me what helps the onions Caramelize faster in this French Onion Soup recipe

FRENCH ONION SOUP

INGREDIENTS

·         4 Medium to Large onions

·         Oil

·         Sugar               ½ teaspoon

·         Black pepper  

·         Salt to taste

·         Red wine         half Cup

·         Meat Stock (Preferably Beef)

·         Seasoning

·         French bread

·         Parmesan Cheese

PREPARATION

  

Chop onions thinly and add 3 table spoons of butter in a pot. Allow the butter melt and heat up before adding the chopped onions and a table spoon of sugar, this is to make the onions caramelize faster, cover the pot and allow it caramelize for about 10-20mins

As soon as it caramelizes (brown but not burnt), add your favorite spices, Black pepper and the red wine, cover and allow wine to reduce to at least half. Then add the meat broth, salt to taste and allow it cook for another 10 mins minimum.

Make croutons by coating a pan with butter, add some garlic and probably little seasoning, add the bread and toast.

Scoop soup into soup bowls, top with the croutons and grated parmesan cheese. Pop into the oven for 10 mins and as soon as Cheese is golden brown, the soup is ready. Soup should be extremely hot at this point so allow to rest a bit before digging in.

This is super enjoyable on a very cold day.

So for our Give away Today, Our question is what helps the onions Caramelize faster in this French Onion Soup recipe? The 1st and 15^th correct answer on the comment box on www.foodiesandspice.com gets to win a Carton of Queen of Syrah Wine.