Sunday Slow Soupers # 14 - French Onion Soup

I can't believe that we are on our 14th soup this week? Where does the time fly? This week's recipe was posted by Sharon who we have had the pleasure of meeting many times at various GTGs. She is a wonderful cook so I was confident that this soup would be a hit.

This soup recipe is one that she calls 'her old stand by'. One of those recipes that you love so much that you return to it time and again. She shared the secret with us: 'the key to this soup is to cook the onions until they are nicely caramelized'. I caramelized the heck out of them . . . and now understand the way French Onion Soup is supposed to be! The onions almost melted into the soup . . . the flavours were soft and delicate.

We really, really enjoyed this soup. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that there were no leftovers. Shame this.

I wondered, as I was making the recipe, if there was anything 'French' about French Onion soup or was it an American creation? I was happy to find this on-line (so we know that it MUST be true, don't we?):

French onion soup is an onion and beef broth based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings. Although ancient in origin, this dish underwent a resurgence of popularity in the 1960s due to the growth of French cooking in the United States.

Onion soups have been popular at least as far back as Roman times. They were, throughout history, seen as food for the poor people, as onions were plentiful and easy to grow. The modern version of this soup originates in France in the 18 th century,made from dry bread or croutons, beef broth, and caramelized onions. It is often broiled in a ramekin traditionally with gruyère melted on top. The crouton on top is reminiscent of ancient sops.

Legend has it that the soup was created by King Louis XV of France. Late one night, he discovered he only had onions, butter and champagne at his hunting lodge (dear lord - a crisis of royal proportions!), so he mixed them together to create the first French onion soup. Alternate stories attribute the creation to King Louis XIV.

Julia Child's last meal was French Onion Soup. She died peacefully in her sleep of kidney failure soon after. Lucky Julia - if you have to go that wouldn't be all that bad . . .

Don't be put off by those memories of pots of almost raw onions served in basement-dark-and-dingy steak houses throughout the US by waiters in tuxedos . . . this is great soup. You and your lucky friends/family will be very happy when you serve this up!

Enjoy!

French Onion Soup

2 lbs. yellow onions, peeled, halved lengthwise, then sliced thinly crosswise
2 Tbsps. oil
2 Tbsps. butter
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 dried bay leaf or 2 fresh bay leaves
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. sugar
2 tsps. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
¾ C. dry white wine (or red wine)
6 C reduced-sodium beef broth (48 fl oz.)
6 diagonal slices of baguette
½ lb. shredded Gruyère (or Comte or Emmental) cheese
2 Tbsps. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)

Heat butter and oil in a heavy 4- to 5-quart pot. Add onions, thyme, bay leaves, sugar and salt. Stirring frequently, cook onions over moderate heat until they are very soft and deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. Add flour and pepper, and stir for 2 minutes. Add wine and stir for 2 more minutes. Add broth and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

While soup simmers, preheat oven to 350°F.

Arrange bread in 1 layer on a baking sheet and toast, turning over once, until completely dry, about 15 minutes. Remove croutons from oven and preheat broiler. Put heat-proof soup bowls in a shallow baking pan.

Discard bay leaves and thyme from soup and divide soup among bowls, then put a crouton in each. Add enough shredded Gruyère to cover crouton, then sprinkle each with Parmigiano-Reggiano (if using).

Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes.

Make ahead: Soup can be made and refrigerated or frozen (of course, do not add croutons and cheese to soup if making ahead); cool soup completely, uncovered, then refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze. Reheat soup before proceeding with recipe.

Comments

[Candi]

Looks great,Jerry. And thanks for the info of its origins. I loved this soup so much, there were not leftovers!

[Cindy Ruth]

Looking at your photo makes me want to make this again. Hum, I have beef broth, bread, but no onions. I loved this soup also, and am sure I'll make it again.

[Marcia]

Thanks for the back story - yep, it's all in the carmelizing, guess those French cooks had plenty of time to stand at the stove, or woodfire. This was really delicious.

[nancyhol]

Jerry, I enjoyed your historical info. This was a delicious recipe, no question about it!

[Diana]

Jerry Dear, I just saw that you posted on my stew post -- twice --I have no idea why it did not get published, but got thrown into the moderation section of my blog. Wierd -- they were the only two comments in there, and since I never check there, I just found them now.

The soup reminds me of a Piemontese antipasti -- slow cooked onions. You scoop the inside of an onion out, and you leave the shell with the skin intact. You bake, on a cooking sheet, the onion at 100 degrees celcius over night. In the morning it is mush --sweet, caramelized mush. You mix it with some other things and spoon it back into the skins which have been lightly baked.

Because of the sugar content of onions, their sweetness when cooked is amazing.

This soup looks sooooo good. mmmmm.

Lots of warm hugs to you and Paul.

[Palma]

I think I'll have some of this soup for lunch. But I don't want it to be done!

[JDeQ]

It sounds as if none of us had any leftovers! Note to self - make a double recipe in the future.

Diana - that sounds delicious - do you have a recipe?