Is there anything more comfortable than on a chilly day with a hot bowl of French Onion Soup? especially with some slice of toasted bread filled with some melty Gruyere cheese and lots of caramelized onions. Your soup will only be as good if you use the perfect stock for it. This soup is commonly made with beef stock, but sometimes it a good beef stock that can be hard to be purchased because it gets expensive to make the soup. You can use the boxed stock, but before using it taste it first and if you like the taste then use it otherwise, don’t use it.
The second most important thing is to fully caramelize the onions. The caramelizing process takes 40 minutes in this recipe because it’s the most important part of the recipe and if you don’t caramelize the onions properly than you are not going to like the french onion soup.
What is Caramelizing?
A Chemical process occurs when the sugars in the onions reach a certain temperature. That is called the process of Caramelization. This process only happens after a long cooking time (the addition of some extra sugar will help). If you caramelized more than the color of the onions is going to be deeper and it will taste nice. Now let me tell you about the French
Onion Soup:
What is French Onion Soup?
French Onion is soup is a type of soup which is typically based on the meat stocks and onions, and often served with the gratinated with croutons and cheese on top of a large piece of bread. This recipe got popular in the 1960s in the United States due to a greater interest in French Cuisine. This is soup is usually served as a starter. There are some of the French names for this soup check it out:
1. Soupe à l’oignon à la Parisienne
2. Gratinée Parisienne
3. Gratinée des Halles
4. Gratinée Lyonnaise
5. Soupe à l’oignon Lyonnaise
6. Soupe à l’oignon Gratinée
These were some alternative names for French onion soup. Onion Soups have been popular since the time of Romans. According to history, these were seen as the food for the poor people, as the onions were easy to grow and plentiful. French Onion Soup’s modern version was discovered in Paris, France in the 18th Century. Made from broth, beef, and caramelized onions. Marie Julie Grandjean Mouquin is credited with introducing onion soup into the USA in 1861. She was the wife of a famous restaurateur named Henri Marc Moquin.
Commonly, recipes specify that the onions should be cooked slowly, becoming Caramelized, Brandy or Sherry is added at the end.
This soup is often topped up with a slice of bread (a croute or crouton). French Onion Soup is served in the soup bowl and if you don’t have soup bowls in your homes I refer you to buy one from amazon.
You can also try the Liver Dumpling Soup Recipe which is famous cuisine in the Czech. We would recommend you give it a try at least once.
Ingredients :
6 large red or yellow onions (about 3 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced root to stem (see How to Slice an Onion), about 10 cups of sliced onions total
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon of sugar
Salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups of beef stock, chicken stock, or a combination of the two (traditionally the soup is made with beef stock)
1/2 cup of dry vermouth or dry white wine
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon (loose) of fresh thyme (can also use a few sprigs of fresh thyme) OR 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
8 slices French bread or baguette-cut 1-inch thick
1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere and a sprinkling of Parmesan
Method :
1 Caramelize the onions: In a 5 to 6-quart thick-bottomed pot, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and toss to coat with the olive oil.
Cook the onions, stirring often, until they have softened, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter and cook, stirring often, until the onions start to brown, about 15 more minutes.
Then sprinkle with sugar (to help with the caramelization) and 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to cook until the onions are well browned about 10 to 15 more minutes.
Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute more.
2 Deglaze the pot with vermouth: Add the vermouth to the pot and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom and sides of the pot, deglazing the pot as you go.
3 Add stock and seasonings: Add the stock, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot, and lower the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes.
Season to taste with more salt and add freshly ground black pepper. Discard the bay leaves. Add brandy if using.
4 Toast French bread slices: While the soup is simmering, line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil and preheat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the upper third of the oven.
Brush both sides of the French bread or baguette slices lightly with olive oil (you’ll end up using about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil for this).
Put in the oven and toast until lightly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Turn the toasts over and sprinkle with the grated Gruyere cheese and Parmesan. Return to the oven when it’s close to serving time and bake until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.
5 Serve: To serve, ladle soup into a bowl and transfer one cheesy toast onto the top of each bowl of soup.
Alternatively, you can use individual oven-proof bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350° F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned.
