This CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP is always a welcome treat!
This CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP recipe ranks as one of my top ten comfort foods of all time. It is easy to prepare and I especially like the simplicity of it all. One thing I can’t stress enough – it’s all about the onions and that distinctive topping. Who doesn’t love that stringy, melted Gruyère drooping from your spoon with that first bite? It’s always, oh, so good.
Making homemade soup from scratch always works. Up here in cottage country, a well-made bowl of soup is akin to what many of us think of as the ultimate comfort food. Making a hot soup is good for your home and your soul.
Here are a few things I always do when I make this onion soup recipe:
THE ONIONS
Since the flavour profile of this soup is all about the onions, I suggest using a variety that really builds out the flavour profile. I find that sweeter onions like Vidalia, Spanish, and Bermuda work best since they caramelize up so perfectly. I also suggest avoiding red onions as they will colour your soup a dark brown.
THE SLICE
Slice your onions thin. Begin by cutting your onions in half lengthwise, then lay the onions cut side down and slice them as thinly as possible from base to tip. Feel free to use a vegetable mandoline if you’re looking for a uniform look.
BE PATIENT
Cook the onions down slowly on low heat – it takes time, but it’s worth it. Adding the slightest sprinkle of sugar as this recipe calls for can help it along, but you can leave it out if you wish.
BROTH TIME
I’ve listed beef broth in this recipe because I think it the perfect base for traditional onion soup. That said, be confident that poultry or vegetarian stock will achieve the same superior results. Here’s a recipe for PURE VEGETABLE BROTH if you need one.
I find that a light swipe of butter across one side of the baguette before it goes into the oven creates crisp, golden toasts. If baguette is difficult to find, you can use a ciabatta bun sliced in the same fashion.
SAY CHEESE
Please use GRUYÈRE cheese exclusively for this soup – I swear, it’s as if Gruyère was invented to be used in recipes with onions! I believe the true magic of this authentic, slow-cooked CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP recipe can only be achieved using Gruyère.
A soup like this can be served as a first course, but I often enjoy it on its own as a complete meal – remember, it’s rich and satiating. If you’d like something light but flavourful to go with it, I suggest our CHOPPED KALE SALAD as well as my favourite CAESAR SALAD. If you’re pressed for time, try our SIMPLE SALAD. All three will partner well with this beloved, classic dish!
This easy CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP recipe is a crowd-pleasing favourite that always gets rave reviews. Enjoy!
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Ingredients
2 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
2 Spanish onions, thinly sliced
6 Bermuda onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 cup dry white wine
8 cups beef stock
salt to taste
1 French baguette, thinly sliced
3 cups Gruyère cheese, grated
Directions
Heat butter and oil in a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Add onions, stir and reduce heat to low. Cook for an hour, stirring occasionally, until the onions have reduced and are soft. Add wine, sugar and thyme and cook for an additional 30 minutes until onions are caramelized and browned. Remove and discard thyme.
Add the beef broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium, season to taste with salt and pepper and simmer as you prepare toasts.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Thinly slice baguette on an angle. Lightly butter one side and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Transfer to oven until slices are toasted, about 15 minutes.
Turn oven broiler on and position top rack in the middle of the oven. Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls and place on a baking sheet. Place 3 or 4 toast slices in each bowl on top of soup and sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Transfer to oven and broil until the top is browned and bubbly. Serve immediately.
With such a soup, a knife is your friend, not your enemy. Using both the soup spoon and the knife, push the baked cheese against the rim of the cup or bowl and cut it gently with the knife. Once you've broken the cheese barrier, you can use the knife again to nudge bits of cheese onto the spoon.
Panera Bread is working to regain customers' loyalty in 2020 with the reintroduction of its fan-favorite French Onion Soup. 2019 was a year of food news for Panera, not all of it positive. First, it removed the French Onion Soup, a staple on the menu for over 20 years, to make room for seasonal menu items in June.
What is the Difference Between Onion Soup and French Onion Soup? French onion soup is always made with beef stock. Other onion soups can be made with chicken, vegetable, or beef stock. Additionally, French onion soup typically contains wine or sherry, which isn't typical or necessary in other onion soups.
It has even become a trendy dish that tourists are eager to try to experience French gastronomy. However, onion soup is in fact not part of French people's daily meals. It was originally meant to be eaten after a family reunion in the middle of the night to cure hangovers…
Onions are a great source of soluble fibre and therefore a good prebiotic; food for the good gut bacteria. Optimal gut health is crucial for weight loss and this delicious soup provides great nutrients to help boost weight loss as part of a weight management programme.
Eating with your hands is considered impolite, so make sure to tuck into that steak frites with your knife and fork. Notable exceptions include bread and certain dishes including asparagus. One thing you may have noticed in France is people do not cut their salads. Do so, and you might receive a few funny looks.
A few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf elevate the soup even more, but I take it a step further, adding a splash of fish sauce for complexity and depth—don't worry, it won't taste fishy—and a hit of cider vinegar to balance some of that oniony sweetness.
First, French onion soup calls for a ton of onions. While onions aren't expensive, there's a lot of labor involved in halving, peeling, and slicing 10, 12, 50, or one billion onions (I don't know how much soup you make).
French onion soup is the ultimate comfort food. Onions get slowly cooked until sweet and caramelized, then simmered in rich broth until they're practically falling apart. To finish it off, toasted bread is added to give it that lovable crisp-gone-soggy texture and a generous amount of Gruyère cheese is melted on top.
It is said that it was invented by none other than King Louis XV late one night at his hunting lodge when he was very hungry. When he only found onions, butter, and champagne in the pantry, he decided to use the three ingredients to make the French onion soup for the very first time.
French onion soup is traditionally served in lionhead bowls, which are deep but not very wide porcelain bowls. Here are four reasons why these bowls are perfect: Plenty of soup. Even as the bread on top starts to soak up some of the soup, there's still plenty left underneath.
The saltier the better in order to cure the morning after shakes. They also have a tendency to make cassoulet, a traditional dish composed of white beans, sausages, meat, and goose fat. It keeps the alcohol from settling into your blood, but good luck if you're not feeling peckish.
You definitely need a spoon to eat french onion soup. The fork and knife are there for cutting the bread if you want. But you would still need a spoon to be able to get any broth. The bread it's to break down in bits and throw them into the soup.
If bread rolls are served, break them with your fingers not with your knife. Only a small piece of roll at a time (never the whole thing) should be buttered, with a butter knife. Soup should be spooned away from you with the bowl tilted away and even if it's steaming hot, never embarrass yourself by blowing on it!
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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