French Onion Soup
Filed under: Recipes
On Thursday Thomas Keller’s long awaited cookbook, Bouchon, arrived on my doorstep. I’d had a cursory flick through it at a friend’s house and had pledged there and then that as soon as I owned the book I would tackle one of the more demanding bistro classics, the French onion soup. On my honeymoon, back in October, I’d enjoyed a particularly good one at Pastis (a faux French bistro located in the trendy meatpacking district in New York) Whilst the rest of the food was not up to much, the crusty bread laden with melting cheese floating in the sweet oniony liquid refuses to leave my memory.
Technically speaking the soup itself is not difficult to prepare however it is time consuming, you’ll need the best part of an afternoon. Keller’s recipe instructs one to spend 5 hours intermittently stirring the onions (which means a total cooking time of well over 6 hours) in order that the onions reach the perfect point of caremalization and surrender their sweet juices. In a professional kitchen this is all well and good but for the home cook it can be a daunting and unnecessarily worrisome task. So whilst I have stuck loosely to Keller’s recipe I have reduced the cooking time (by approximately 2 hours) by not using a heat diffuser under the pan meaning the onions cook significantly quicker. Another modification I made was using chicken stock instead of beef, like many cooks I usually have some lying around in my deep-freezer whereas I very rarely make beef stock, using the chicken stock makes the soup lighter and less meaty.
The most unpleasant aspect of the recipe however is chopping the mountain of onions needed. This is particularly irksome if you are predisposed to weeping, a sure fire trick that works for me is to put a metal spoon in my mouth. However whilst this might avoid tears streaming down your face it won’t guard against the onions infusing their potent odour into everything in their immediate vicinity and that includes you. So beware you might have a distinctly whiffy air of onions about you for a couple of days.
A final word of warning, keep an eye on your onions when cooking, if you notice there is too much liquid in the pan turn up the heat and make sure you dry them out a little otherwise they will boil instead of caramelize.
Despite all these little annoyances nothing beats a lovingly prepared onion soup, especially when it is cold and rainy outside as it is while I am cooking the soup. It is the ultimate in comfort food, so much more than just a soup, a meal in itself, and ultimately spirit lifting.
French Onion Soup
For the Soup
8 pounds yellow onions
4 ounces unsalted butter
kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons all purpose flour
beef stock ( chicken or vegetable will do)
sherry wine vinegar
For the Croutons
1 baguette
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
6 -12 slices aged Comte or Emmentaler cheese (at lease 4 inches square)
For the soup
Cut of tops and bottoms of the onions, then cut the onions lengthwise in half. Remove the peels and tough outer layers. Cut a V wedge in each one to remove the core.
Lay an onion half cut side down on a cutting board with the root end towards you. Note that there are lines on the outside of the onion. Cutting on the lines (with the grain) rather than against them will help the onions soften.
Melt the butter in a large heavy stockpot over a medium heat. Add the onions and 1 tablespoon salt, and reduce the heat to low. Cook stirring every 15 minutes and regulating the heat to keep the mixture bubbling gently, for about 1 hour, or until the onions have wilted and released a lot of liquid. Continue to stir the onions every 15 minutes being sure to scrape the bottom and corners of the pot, for about 3 hours or until the onions are caramelised throughout. Remove from the heat (You will need 1 ½ cups of onions for the soup, reserve any extra for another use)
Transfer the caramelized onion to a 4.5 litre pan. Sift in the flour and cook over a medium-high heat, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beef, veg or chicken stock and sachet, bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 1 hour or until the liquid is reduced to 2 litres. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a few drops of vinegar. Remove from heat.
For the Croutons
Preheat the broiler/grill. Cut 12 3/8 inch thick slices from the baguette (reserve the remainder for another use) and place on a baking sheet. Brush the bread lightly on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place under the broiler/grill and toast the first side until golden brown then turn and brown the second side. Set aside and leave the broiler on.
To Complete
Return the soup to a simmer. Place six flameproof soup bowls, with about 1 ½ cups capacity on a baking sheet to catch any spills. Add the hot soup to the bowls and lay the cheese on top.
Place under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese bubbles, browns and forms a thick crust. Eat carefully the soup will be very hot.
42 Comments so far
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that sounds fabulous–the pictures are beautiful too!
This was one of the first things I learned to make from my neighbour in France, and also couldn’t believe the time it took to cut and cook the mountain of necessary onions. I hardly ever make it at home because of that–but it certainly looks worth it.
Must get Bouchon cookbook…
Comment by tejal 05.07.06 @ 10:41 pmYour cover is blown!
Not only are you a brilliant writer … you’re a briliant photographer. Just gorgeous, Gastrochick.
Wish I could have been there to enjoy a bowl of your soup.
Have a wonderful week …
Comment by Ivonne 05.08.06 @ 12:42 amLooks wonderful! Picture and recipe! Since I am French, I think I need one of those bowls! 
Chopping onions. Swimming goggles are an effective, if unsightly solution. If you need to wear glasses too then try a scuba-diving mask…
i’ve tried making french onion soup before without much sucess because i didn’t know you had to cook the onions for three hours. yesterday i gave it a shot (in a much smaller portion) and it was a huge sucess. they were so amazing, sweet and tart with that lovely carmel color, everything i could ask of an onion.
Comment by china 05.09.06 @ 3:37 pmtejal - time consuming but I’m sure you’ll agree worth it.
Ivonne - thanks Ivonne you are too kind
Bea- As you are a french native I’m sure you appreciate a good French onion soup even more than me!
Jon - Thanks for you words of advice, do you abide by them yourself? If you do you must be a sight for sore eyes in the kitchen
China - most recipes given don’t stipulate that one has to cook the onions for a long time, I think it is because they don’t want to scare people. However, as you’ll agree it does make a huge difference and is worth it in the long run. I’m glad that I’ve been able to impart some knowledge even if it is by way of the mighty Thomas Keller.
Comment by GastroChick 05.09.06 @ 4:44 pmNah, I generally just use ski goggles. Not as airtight, but sooo much more stylish, especially the ones with the mirror finish. 
I think I would either burn or boil the onions. Thank you for posting aboutall of that.
Comment by Gabriella True 05.11.06 @ 6:40 amGorgeous recipe and photos! I’ve never made onion soup with chicken stock, but will give it a try next time around. I had also never tried using a heat diffuser while cooking the onions…
Jon’s comment reminds me of a great scene from the movie Diva (yes, it’s OLD and I’m dating myself here…) where one of the characters is chopping onions in the kitchen while wearing a diving mask and snorkel as protective gear!
Comment by Yasmin 05.12.06 @ 4:54 pmwell you inspired me to work on my carmelized onions. I did a fairly good job. I loved how you talked about the heat either burning or boiling. I had never really thought boiling them basically was the problem I was having. THANKS!!
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Great soup and great pictures!
Comment by Damo 05.07.06 @ 11:24 am