French onion soup, Lemon paprika prawns and French bean & almond salad

hello! (: i'm super excited to share my recipes for today because i'm so happy with how they turned out! and all the recipes are relatively simple to do, except the soup which is a little tedious, but not very difficult nonetheless ^^ ah my photos are always so bad, but it's the taste that matters yeah? :p haha. didn't feel like i cooked a large quantity of food but i'm glad that it filled the tummies of my loved ones :) we were surprisingly really full after the meal! super satisfied :D 

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

30g butter

675g onions, thinly sliced

1 tsp sugar

120ml dry red wine

2 tbsp plain white flour

1.5 litres beef stock

1 baguette

garlic spread

115g emmental cheese 

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat. Stir together the onions and sugar. Cook the onions for 40min, uncovered, stirring occasionally so that they do not stick and burn on the bottom, until they are browned.

2. Stir the wine into the onions. Increase the heat to medium and stir for 5min or until the onions are glazed. Sprinkle with the flour and stir for 2min. Stir in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and leave the soup to simmer for 30min. Add water if too salty.

3. Meanwhile, slice the baguette and spread generously with garlic spread. Toast the baguettes till the garlic is fragrant, sprinkle cheese over and toast till the cheese melts. Place 1 slice of baguette in each bowl and pour the soup over. Serve immediately.

This was a really warm hearty soup which we all loved! and the bread inside was probably what filled us up (: *rubs tummy*

Lemon Paprika Prawns

a really simple dish that is zesty and spicy!

Ingredients:

450g prawns, washed

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

salt

2 tsp hot paprika

juice of 2 lemons

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat, add the garlic and fry for 1min, stirring, then increase the heat and add the prawns. Fry for 3min on high heat, stirring frequently.

2. Add the paprika and lemon juice and season to taste with salt. Serve.

French bean & almond salad

it's a close fight between this and my french onion soup, but if i had to pick a favourite, it'd be this dish for its simplicity! (: i loved how it was so easy to prepare and yet so absolutely delicious with its yummy sauce!!!! i modified the recipe a little from taza's blog ;)

Ingredients:

1 packet of french beans, sliced

3 carrots, sliced

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

3 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

1 cup almonds, chopped

1, Toast the almonds in the toaster for 3min.

2. Boil the french beans and carrots in a pot of salted water for 5-10min till your desired softness. Make sure they're not too soft that they break into pieces when mixed. Drain and set aside. 

3. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup and mustard. 

4. Toss with the french beans, carrots and almonds. Serve.