French Onion Soup Baguette

‘French Onion Soup’ Open Baguette

AD| When we were kids we spent many summer holidays driving to France. I have very fond memories of all the wonderful food, and particularly the bread. It was possibly the first time I ever saw anything that looked like a baguette and of course the taste was just sublime.

So when my friends @ukshallots asked me to create a French-inspired recipe I thought back to those delightful holidays.

UK shallots are one of the few items of fresh produce you can buy British grown almost all year round. They have a unique subtle-sweet flavour and are a versatile ingredient found in many French and British dishes.

This glorious open baguette is inspired by the classic French Onion Soup, with slow-roasted balsamic caramelised shallots, a luscious garlic and herb cream cheese and of course a grating of the ubiquitous gruyere cheese on top and toasted to golden perfection.

• Roughly 14 banana shallots (echalions) – cut in half from root to tip and peeled
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh thyme
• 1 x 150g tub @paysanbretonuk French Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese
• 100g gruyrere cheese – finely grated.

You will need a large baking sheet. Pre-heat the oven to 160C (fan) / 330F

Drizzle a little olive oil onto the baking sheet, followed by a sprinkling of salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Lay your shallots cut side down onto the sheet and drizzle a little more oil over the top along with some balsamic vinegar.

Bake for 25 minutes until the shallots have started to turn golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Cut open the baguette, and slather both sides generously with cream cheese and lay the shallots on top. Sprinkle with gruyere cheese. Place them back into the oven for 10 more minutes until bubbling and golden on top.

If you want to make your own baguette, see the recipe my blog: DomInTheKitchen.com

UK Shallots are a collective of British growers producing high quality shallots. You can purchase UK shallots in all major supermarkets.

#ukshallots #shallots #frenchcuisine #sandwich #baguette