Cheese, onion and parsley soup recipe

This delicious cheese, onion and parsley soup is based on a classic onion soup, but with a really luxurious twist.

Onions may not sound like the most tempting vegetable for making into soup, but it's been popular since ancient Roman times. It was originally a peasant dish, because onions were so plentiful and cheap, but the modern version is all pimped up with cheese, croutons and herbs. This version is even more decadent, with camembert and cream added into the mix, to give it a really creamy, deep flavour. Half the soup gets whizzed up to a really lovely smooth texture, then you add that back to the rest so there's a bit if texture in there too. 

Ingredients

• 25g (1oz) butter
• 2tbsp sunflower oil
• 500g (4oz) onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 1.1 litres chicken or vegetable stock
• 225g (8oz) camembert cheese, rind removed and roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp double cream
• 20g flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Parsley for garnish

Method

1. Melt the butter with the oil in a large saucepan, add the onions and cook for 20 mins, stirring to prevent burning. The onions should be soft and lightly browned.
2. Add the stock and simmer for 15 mins. Stir in the camembert, cream and parsley and stir over the heat until the cheese has melted.
3. Pour half the soup into a liquidiser or hand blender and liquidise until smooth. Pour back into the pan with the rest of the soup, mix well and season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with French bread croutons and a sprinkling of extra parsley.

Top tip for cheese, onion and parsley soup

Serve this with crouton so you get some real crunch in there as well. You can either buy them in packs at the supermarket, or make your own - it's so simple. Just cut some bread into cubes (if it's a little stale, so much the better, but you can use fresh). Toss them in a bowl with salt, pepper and a glug of olive oil, then arrange on a baking tray in a medium oven for 8-10 minutes. Turn once during cooking.

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