French onions soup is one of France’s most classic potages, and despite the usual pretext of French cuisine, this dish is very simple to prepare, almost austere. With just onions and good-quality beef stock, and a flutter of woody herbs, you have an excellent, warming soup that yields for days. It’s best served with its crisp, cheesy crouton on top, finished under a hot grill or in the oven until molten. As with all simple dishes, the secret to creating a superior French onion soup lies solely in the technique. In this recipe, I slice the onions two different ways, which creates a dual texture of both jammy onions and tender, melting shreds in the soup. I also add a nip of baking soda which quickly renders down the onion’s cell walls, releasing their natural sugars to caramelise and brown in under half the usual time. I like to use the classic ‘blessing’ technique of ‘blessing’ the serving bowls with a teaspoon of brandy or white wine before you ladle in the hot soup; it really adds a divine essence! Let’s go!
INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6x)
3x extra large brown onions (or 6x medium-size)
3 tablespoons of cooking oil
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsps light brown sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
2x sprigs of fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried)
1.5 litres of good quality beef stock
1x small French baguette, sliced
100g of gruyère/comté/mild cheddar
1-2 tsps of brandy or white wine, for serving - optional
WALKTHROUGH
First, let’s slice the onions. We will slice half of the onions as ‘rainbow cuts’ and slice the other half as ‘pole-to-pole’ cuts. Use the image below as a guide. Slice them as thinly as you can as thick slices will increase the cooking/browning time. Add the sliced onions to your cooking pot.
Place the cooking pot onto a medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil and 1 tsp of salt and stir until the onions are coated. Place a lid on the pot and allow the onions to gently cook and steam for 10 minutes without removing the lid.
After 10 minutes, remove the lid and stir the onions well. Increase the heat to medium and add the 1/8 tsp of baking soda. Stir the onions well and continue stirring frequently as the onions break down, reduce in volume and begin to brown, taking care they do not burn. This should take about 20 minutes.
Once the onions are browned, add 2 tsps of light brown sugar. Continue stirring gently for 2-3 minutes until the onions develop a rich, dark colour. Tip: gather the onions to one side of the pot, and allow the vacant side of the pot to brown deeply on the bottom. Stir the onions around the pot to remove this browned coating and repeat the process 2-3 times to deepen the browning.
Add the 1.5 litres of beef stock followed by the 1/2 tsp black pepper, bay leaf and 2 sprigs of thyme. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil and stir well to remove any browning from the base of the pot.
Simmer the soup for 5-10 minutes. You can taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and/or sugar.
Meanwhile, lets make the croutons. Preheat the grill/broiler to high, or preheat an oven to 200C/400F. Slice a small baguette into 1-inch thick slices.
Place the baguette slices under the broiler/into the oven and allow them to toast until crisp on both sides. Remove them from the oven and set aside.
To finish the soup, add a 1-2 tsps of brandy or white wine to each of your heat-proof serving bowls. Add the soup into the bowls and place the toasted bread crouton on top. Add a few tablespoons of gruyère/comté/mild cheddar to each bowl. Place the soup bowls onto a tray and place under the grill/into the oven until the cheese has just melted.
Serve the soup hot with plenty of extra bread - enjoy!
