As the temperature going down gradually here in the west country, its time to bring the soups back. While I am a big fan of tinned soup especially Heinz varieties, there is a pleasure in cooking a pan of soup from scratch which can't be matched by opening the tin and heating the contents :-)

This recipe is inspired by Jamie Oliver's English onion soup. As usual I changed and skipped a few ingredients to make it simpler. This is very easy to make and tastes really good. Don't be full by the amount of chopped onion and leek, once cooked it doesn't make much! I was hoping to have it for lunch for a couple of days but E and I managed to eat it all in about 10 minutes! E also complained that it wasn't enough and that's always a good sign:-)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium white Onions, sliced
• 2 medium red Onions, sliced
• 1 large Leek, sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Litre hot Beef/Vegetable Stock
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 100 g Cheddar, grated
• 2 slices of Granary Bread, toasted
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 50 g Butter
• 1 tbsp chopped Sage
• Salt and black Pepper

Method:

• Heat the oil and the butter in a pan and fry sliced onion and leek for a couple of minutes over medium heat while stirring.
• Add chopped garlic to the onions, mix well.
• Cover the pan and cook the onion, leek and garlic mixture over low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Once the mixture is soft and lightly golden, add the stock, Worcestershire sauce and sage. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
• Cover the pan again and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes.
• Remover the lid and cook the soup for another 15 minutes until its slightly thicker.
• Pour the soup in a serving bowl, put a slice of bread on top and sprinkle half of the grated cheese over the bread before serving.