I have been obsessed with Rosie Mackean’s loaded fry videos, and I have been inspired! I was racking my brain for all of the flavours I could pile up on a bed of fries, and French onion soup seemed like a rather good place to start. Slowly cooked onions, Gruyère and crisp fries, with a few chives to finish.
The onions take the longest, but they’re worth giving your time to. Cook them slowly in butter until they’re soft and golden, then add brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and thyme to make them sticky and savoury-sweet. You want them properly caramelised, not just softened, so resist the temptation to turn up the heat and rush things.
Once the fries are crisp, pile everything into an ovenproof dish with the onions and a generous amount of grated Gruyère. A few minutes under the grill melts the cheese into all the little gaps, leaving some fries crisp around the edges and others getting a little soggy from the onions and cheese. Finish with soured cream, chives and plenty of black pepper.
These French onion fries are enough for two as dinner, or enough for four if sharing them with some drinks. They’re rich, salty and gloriously messy, so something sharp and cold to drink alongside is welcome. I served mine with a dry vodka martini and a pickled onion, which cuts through all that cheese rather nicely. A very good Friday night, if you ask me.
FRENCH ONION FRIES
Serve with a dry vodka martini, for a very good friday night.
Ingredients
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 3 white onions finely sliced
- 1.5 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 thyme sprigs leaves picked
- 750 g frozen fries
- 150 g gruyere grated
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- to serve: soured cream, finely chopped chives
Instructions
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Preheat the oven according to the temp on the packet of your oven fries!
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Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over a low-medium heat. Add the sliced onion and a good pinch of salt and cook gently for 25-30 minutes, stirring regularly and reducing the heat if anything begins to catch, until the onion is very soft and gorgeously golden. Add the sugar, balsamic vinegar and thyme, then continue to cook for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the onion is lovely and sticky.
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When your onions are about 20 minutes from being ready, bake the fries according to their packet' instructions (you’ll probably need to spread them between two trays!). I like to cook mine in a little oil and salt – but you do you.
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Switch your oven to its grill setting. Layer the fries, caramelised onion and gruyere on an ovenproof plate. Pop it under the grill for a few minutes, to melt the cheese.
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Finish your fries with a few dollops of soured cream, a sprinkling of chopped chives and a good grind of black pepper. Devour immediately.
Eat these fries with my perfect martini (just use vodka instead of gin!).
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