AN ITALIAN CURE

Well, I've tried everything else in my efforts to get rid of this 'flu so at lunch time I made this red onion soup, which has worked for me before. The use of butter instead of oil indicates the northern Italian provenance of this recipe:

Red onion soup

4 oz unsalted butter
1.5 lbs red onions, sliced thinly
2 cloves pink garlic, finely chopped [not an authentic addition, but I felt I needed it]
0.75 pint good vegetable stock
chopped fresh herbs - thyme, rosemary, sage
coarse seasalt and freshly ground black pepper
2 slices hard, Italian bread per person


Melt the butter in a heavy pan and add the onions and garlic. You want them to sort of melt into the butter but not brown, so put the lid on and let them cook over a low heat for c. 15 minutes, stirring once. When the onions are soft, add the stock, herbs and seasoning, put the lid back on and simmer for another 15 mins. Towards the end of this time, toast the bread and butter it and put 2 slices in the bottom of each soup bowl. Pour the soup over and serve. Sprinkle with parmesan or not, as you prefer. These quantities will serve 2 generously.


My head already feels clearer!