Soup season is officially upon us and one chef is urging home cooks to give some attention to a classic French dish. French onion soup is one of the most recognisable meals to have during the winter season.

Chef Matthew Ryle recently shared some of his top tips for perfecting some classic French dishes, proving just how easy it is to recreate them at home. He described French onion soup as the 'ultimate comfort food', flavoured with rich notes of caramelised onions, beef stock, and piled high with lashings of grated cheese.

However, to take it to the next level, the chef revealed he adds one unusual ingredient to help the onion flavours 'sing'.

Matthew’s secret ingredient? Soy sauce. He said: "The secret ingredient to this soup is time, as the onions need to be cooked very low and slow. The more caramelised, the more flavour they’ll have."

Ingredients

1.5kg onions, finely sliced

100g butter

Three garlic cloves, crushed

Three bay leaves

Few thyme sprigs, leaves only

300ml white wine

1.3 litres good-quality beef stock

50ml soy sauce

½ day-old baguette

250g gruyere