National Dishes of the World

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French onion soup
Photo: Ludovic Péron, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

soup

French onion soup

soupe à l’oignon gratinée

Soup of slowly caramelised onions in stock, baked under a slice of bread and melted cheese in an earthenware bowl.

Eaten in: France

Prep
15 min
Cooking
1 h 20 min
Total
1 h 35 min
Servings
4

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About the dish

Onion soup turns cheap, humble ingredients into something special through patience. Onions are cooked slowly in butter until sweet and brown, then simmered in stock, often with a splash of white wine. For the gratinée version the soup goes into ovenproof bowls, topped with a slice of baguette and a thick layer of grated cheese such as comté or gruyère, and is baked until the cheese melts and browns. In Paris it is associated with the old Les Halles market, where it was eaten in the small hours after a night of work or fun. Today it is a bistro classic for winter evenings.

Main ingredients

  • onions
  • butter
  • beef stock
  • baguette
  • comté or gruyère cheese

More: Wikipedia (en)

Recipe

French onion soup

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/french-onion-soup

Ingredients

4 servings

4 servings

Method

  1. Melt the butter with the oil in a wide pot, add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook over a medium-low heat for 40–50 minutes, stirring often, until soft and deep golden.

  2. Sprinkle over the flour and cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the wine and reduce it by half.

  3. Add the stock, thyme and bay leaf and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the herbs and season with salt and pepper.

  4. Toast the baguette slices in the oven or a toaster until crisp.

  5. Ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls, float the toasts on top and cover them generously with cheese.

  6. Grill for 5–8 minutes until the cheese has melted and browned. Serve at once.

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