I miss cooking French Cuisine, the first cuisine that I learned in Culinary school twelve years ago. Every time I make French dishes, I still continue to learn and discover new techniques. Since I am here in Vancouver right now, and the weather is freezing, this Classic French Onion Soup is absolutely perfect! It’s tasty, smooth and comforting. Follow this recipe and you will this will be your new favorite soup.
Classic French Onion Soup
This Classic French Onion Soup is absolutely perfect! It’s tasty, smooth and comforting. Follow this recipe and you will this will be your new favorite soup.
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RateServings: 4
Ingredients
- 100 gms Red Onion sliced
- 400 gms White Onion sliced
- 50 gms Unsalted Butter
- 1 clove Garlic finely chopped
- 1.5 liter Brown Beef Stock
- Salt and Pepper
Garniture
- 1/2 Baguette sliced into 1-inch thick
- 250 gms Gruyere Cheese grated
Instructions
- Slice the onions into half-moons. Cut each half of the onion into thin and evenly-sized half-moons.
- Tie the thyme and basil with kitchen twine (bouquet garni). Set aside
- Melt the butter and oil in a thick-bottomed, non-stick pan over medium heat. When the butter foams up, put the onions, garlic and bouquet garni, and stir gently to coat the onions with butter.
- Cover the pan, lower the heat and cook for 15 minutes.
- Open the lid; the onions should have wilted down. Season with salt and pepper, stirring occasionally until onions are caramelized. Maintain the low heat to keep onions from browning too quickly, cooking the onions takes about 35 to 40 minutes more.
- Meanwhile, heat the broth in a separate stockpot while waiting for the onions to caramelize.
- Pour in the Sherry to the caramelized onions to deglaze, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan. Cook slowly until the glaze is melted and reduce the wine to 70% or until the liquid almost evaporated.
- Add the beef stock and bouquet garni (thyme and basil) to the caramelized onions. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes and lower the heat, then simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until the broth has been reduced.
- Season the soup with salt and pepper, if needed. Add a splash of sherry before removing from the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Divide the soup between ramekin or oven-safe bowls. Place each with one or two slices of baguette and sprinkle grated gruyere cheese over the bread up to the edge of the bowls.
- Place the bowls in a baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling, melted and browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for few minutes before serving. Serve with freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
- For best results, use homemade beef broth or fresh bottled ones that you can find in supermarkets. Canned ones with so many preservatives won’t give you the authentic French onion soup.
- Caramelize the onions very slowly. As this happens, chemicals from the onions are released bringing out a brownish color and a distinct caramel and nutty flavor.
- Deglazing is important. Deglazing is a cooking technique that means to pour some cold liquid into a very hot pan to loosen and dissolve all the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Those brown bits hold all the flavors and it is called “fond.” Fond is French for “bottom.”
- Avoid putting too many herbs for this recipe as it might overpower your soup. I used only thyme and basil. Both give the perfect balance of rich and delicate aromatic flavor.
- To have the traditional bubbling crust, use Gruyere cheese. It’s rich, smooth, and melty.
