BAKED ONIONS AND TALEGGIO SAUCE

You could make all manner of complicated cheese sauces and use every pot, sieve and whisk in the kitchen, but I don’t think they come much better than those made by simply melting soft cheese in warm cream. Okay, I have seasoned it with thyme and a little black pepper, but this is nevertheless a fine cheese sauce for spooning over soft, golden baked onions.

Preparation 20 minutes Cooking 1 hour 10 minutes Serves 4

8 MEDIUM ONIONS

3 BAY LEAVES

12 BLACK PEPPERCORNS 3 TBSP OLIVE OIL 60G BUTTER

8 SPRIGS THYME 250ML DOUBLE CREAM 200G TALEGGIO CHEESE

1 Bring a large, deep pan of salted water to the boil. Set the oven at 200°C (180°C fan) gas mark 6. Peel the onions, keeping them whole. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns to the boiling water, then lower in the peeled onions. Leave them at a brisk simmer for about 30 minutes, until they are soft and yielding.

2 Lift out the softened onions with a slotted spoon and place them in a baking dish. Pour the olive oil over the onions, add the butter, the leaves from half of the thyme sprigs and a little black pepper, then bake for about 40 minutes, basting once or twice as they cook.

3 Warm the double cream in a small saucepan over a low heat. Cut the Taleggio into small pieces, then leave to melt, without stirring, in the cream, adding the remaining sprigs of thyme and a grinding of black pepper.

4 Serve two onions per person together with some of the Taleggio thyme sauce.