Creamy Onion & Burnt Sage Soup with Camembert Croqué Monsieur
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Cheese & Dairy; Dish Type; easy; Light meals; Main Ingredient; Mains; Meals and Courses; Seasonal; Soups; Winter
Description
A creamy soup accompanied by vamped up cheese ‘toastie’ – this is French flair that will warm up any winters day.
Ingredients
Onion Soup
120 g butter
6 onions, thinly sliced
12 bay leaves
1 tsp (5 ml) freshly ground black pepper
3 C (750 ml) vegetable or chicken stock
White Sauce
60 g butter
60 g flour
2 C (500 ml) milk
salt and freshly ground pepper
Sage Butter
50 g butter
12 sage leaves
Béchamel Sauce
30 g butter
2 Tbsp (30 ml) flour
½ C (125 ml) milk
Camembert Croqué-monsieur
1 loaf white country-style bread
12 slices ham
3 x 125 g Fairview Camembert rounds, sliced in half widthways
Instructions
Onion Soup
Place the butter, onions, bay leaves and pepper into a saucepan and cook over a low heat stirring frequently until the onions are soft and transparent, but not brown. Add the stock and stir until completely heated through.
White Sauce
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour, stirring very well. Pour the milk into the flour mixture, a little at a time, stirring with each addition to make sure no lumps form. Pour the onion soup mixture into the white sauce and stir well to combine. Remove the bay leaves, place the soup in a blender and whizz until smooth. Strain the soup through a sieve and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Sage Butter
Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the sage leaves. Cook until the butter just starts to brown and the sage leaves are crispy.
Béchamel Sauce
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the flour and mix in well. Slowly add the milk, whisking all the time to avoid any lumps from forming. Cook for 1 minute until the sauce has thickened.
Camembert Croqué-monsieur
Cut the loaf of bread into 12 slices and butter one side of each slice. Turn the slices over, top with a slice of camembert and two slices of ham. Divide the béchamel sauce between the 6 sandwiches. Top with the second slice of bread, butter side up and then fry in a frying pan until golden brown.
Drizzle the butter and sage leaves over the soup before serving.
Serve the freshly cooked croque-monsieur with the hot soup.
