French Onion Soup | Revisited

My favorite category in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking is the soup section. No surprise, I love soup. The simple yet decadent soups in this book have a special place in my heart. With very few ingredients you can make something really delicious. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the “more is more” food idea, but less ingredients and more attention shown to them will (most times) give you better results than a long complex recipe.

Last Saturday marks the four YEAR birthday for this blog and the 245th post. Also, the second time I have posted a French Onion Soup recipe (way back!) I’ve definitely learned more about cooking and more about photo editing in the last four years thanks to this blog. Anyway, back to the soup!

This is my all-time favorite Onion Soup. Aside from the onions, I have everything to make this on hand at home. If you don’t, this still won’t cost you a ton to shop for. The cognac can be omitted, the white wine can be affordable vermouth and the bullion doesn’t have to be made from scratch. This IS a more time consuming recipe. It isn’t an “after work” type recipe, but something to get on the stove on a lazy chilly weekend. The onions require some babysitting in the beginning, but after that it’s mostly hands off. It can’t be rushed, it’s the slow cook that creates the rich and savory flavor that makes this soup so fantastic.

I just recently made the suggested croûtes for the first time. They are great! So crunchy and dry, they would hold up really well floated in the soup. I broke mine apart and dipped so it would stay crunchy longer. This recipe makes about 4-5 medium sized bowls. It’s easily halved if you’d like to make it for two people.

SOUPE À L’OIGNON

1 1/2 lbs. thinly sliced yellow onions

3 tbsp butter

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

3 tbsp flour

1 quart of boiling water

1 quart of bouillon (I use beef)

1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth

Optional: 3 Tbsp cognac

1. In a heavy-bottomed, 4-quart covered saucepan cook the onions slowly on low/med-low heat with the butter and oil for 15 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to medium, and stir in the salt and sugar.

2. Cook for 40-60 minutes stirring frequently, until the onions have turned an even, deep, golden brown. Don’t rush this, it is worth the wait.

3. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 3 minutes.

4. Off heat, blend in the boiling liquid. Add the wine, and season to taste. Simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 minutes or more.

5. Set aside uncovered until ready to serve. Then reheat to the simmer. Just before serving, stir in the cognac if using.

If you have a cast iron or a heavy dutch oven, now is the time to break it out! I use this 12” Lodge cast iron.

Slice your onions thinly. I cut each onion in quarters, vertically; then slice horizontally. This way you don’t end up with really long onion strings in the finished soup.

Add the butter and oil to your pan and toss the onions in.

They shouldn’t sizzle too much, you are starting slow. Cover and cook for ~15 minutes. They will start to look a little translucent. Sprinkle in your salt/sugar mix at this time and raise the heat slightly.

Once your sugar/salt mixture is added it will speed up with caramelization and you will see some browning. You don’t want your onions crisp or dry. If they start to cook too quickly, adjust heat. Remember this is the stirring stage!

Almost there... About 30 minutes in.

Ready for flour! Your onions should be a rich golden brown when you proceed to the next step. Around now, put a pan of water on to boil.

Evenly sprinkle your flour over the onions and stir. It will be grainy.

Cook for 3+ minutes to cook off the flour taste.

I don’t really recommend this beef bouillon. It’s not bad, it’s just not that great either. But it still works really well in this soup. The onions supply the majority of the flavor.

We always have dry vermouth around for cocktails, this works really well in cooking too. 

Once you pour in your bouillon, boiling water and wine the onions will look a little drowned. Don’t worry! Now we have the easy part, add a lid (tipped slightly off for venting) and simmer for 30+ minutes. Stir every once in awhile to check for sticking. If you would like to eat as soon as the simmer is done, make your croûtes at this point.

After the simmering stage is done, you can set aside uncovered and reheat later. Or dig in right away. If you are using cognac (which I do recommend!) add that right before serving.

CROÛTES

1/2 to 1 cup grated Swiss, Parmesan or Gruyere cheese

1” slices of French bread, 1 per person

1 garlic clove

Olive oil

1. Arrange bread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 325°F oven for 30 min until it is thoroughly dried out and lightly browned.

2. Halfway through the baking, each side may be basted with a teaspoon of olive oil.

3. Remove bread from oven (don’t turn the oven off!) Once cool enough to touch,  rub each slice with the cut side of a garlic clove. Top with cheese and return to oven until melted.

I used a baby boule from Whole Foods. I used an olive oil sprayer to mist the bread half way through. When the bread is out of the oven, slice the end off a garlic clove and rub the cut side all over one side of the toast. Top that same side with the shredded cheese of your choice and return to the oven. Depending on your cheese it will take different cook times, Mine took ~8 minutes to melt fully. 

Enjoy this classic!