How to make Gluten free French Onion Soup for all the family

Making a soup for all the family is sometimes hard if one of you has a food allergy. In our family it is me, as I suffer from coeliac disease which means that I cannot eat gluten which is found in flour.

Many restaurants thicken their soups with flour which means that I cannot eat them, but over the years I have found recipes that are just as good but do not use flour.

This soup is easy to make and requires little preparation time. It can be made in a low calorie version which does not alter the taste too much!

INGREDIENTS

3 LARGE ONIONS ( french, mild and juicy if available)

1 OZ OF BUTTER (for the low calorie version use spray on fat)

2 VEGETABLE STOCK CUBES (Check that they are Gluten Free)

1/4 of Camembert Cheese (Not to be used for the low calorie version!)

UTENSILS

1 LARGE COOKING POT

MEASURING JUG ( to mix stock in)

WOODEN SPOON

VEGETABLE KNIFE

CHOPPING BOARD

Peel the Brown skin off the onion and chop into thin slices leaving the base of the onion intact unless you want tears in your eyes. (If your eyes do water do not rub them with your hands as you will spread the onion scent and make your eyes run even more!)

1. Melt the butter if using it or liberally spray the bottom of the pan with the spray on fat.
2. Place the slices of onion in the pan and cover simmering for five minutes. Make sure that the onions do not stick or burn. If any burn take them out as they will affect the taste of the soup.
3. Make up two litres of stock according to the manufacturers instructions. This usually involves adding water to the cubes.
4. Add the stock to the onions, gently stirring.
5. Bring the soup to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. At this point you have the choice to change the appearance of the soup.
7. For a thicker soup - pass the mixture through the blender and reheat on the hob before serving.
8. For a thinner soup- just heat and serve
9. Cheese- when I am not watching the calories I use a quarter of Camembert and cut the waxy shell off the edges. I then cut the cheese into very small pieces and add it to the soup, gently heating the soup through so that the cheese dissolves.,

Some of my family like croutons- these can be bought from any leading supermarket or can be made at home by frying a lice of bread in clean cooking oil and then cutting it into small squares. These can be added as desired to the soup.

I have seen this soup served with french bread which has been toasted with cheese on top.

Whichever way you choose to have this soup I am sure that you will enjoy it!