French onion soup and mixed grains

2kg of brown onions, finely sliced
6 leeks, finely sliced
1 garlic head, chopped
8 shallots
½ bunch of thyme tied together with cooking string
3 bay leaves
Vegetable stock100 ml white wine
50 ml of sherry vinegar
330 of pilsner beer
1 kg Mount Zero soup mix
Oil (grapeseed, extra virgin)
Salt and pepper

Heat up some oil in a pan and add onion, leek, garlic and thyme and season straight away (this will allow the vegetables to lose their own juice and no need of extra fat or liquids), and cover. After 5-10 minutes check that nothing is stuck on the bottom of the pot and stir. The onions need to be cooked long time till they reach jam consistency and a nice heavy brown colour (this will take 25/35 minutes).

Once reached, deglaze the mix with white wine and wait till completely evaporated, then deglaze with the vinegar but evaporate only half of it. Discard the thyme and add the stock (enough to cover the mix in double of the volume). In the meantime, rinse soup mix, strain the water and add it in the pot with the bay leaves (bay leaves helps a lot in the digestion of legumes and grains avoiding air in stomach, TRUE!) When the soup is already simmering, bring to a boil and slow down the temperature, simmer until the grains are soft/al dente (around 15/20 minutes).

Cool down the soup and rest in the fridge overnight for flavour extraction, finish the seasoning with Mount zero salt flakes, cracked pepperberries and the pilsner beer. Serve hot with a garlic bruschetta on the side, bush tomato infused extra virgin olive oil, capers powder and chopped parsley. Enjoy