Classic French Onion Soup

French onion soup has been a revelation – it was utterly delicious, and you cannot appreciate enough the French ingenuity in cooking techniques. From one very popular ingredient like onions, they have added layers of flavor and taste to make it perfect. The taste of caramelized onions is lifted by the best stock and accentuated further through the bay leaf, Worcester sauce, wine, and gruyere cheese. The crustiness of the croutons or toasted bread topped with cheese compliments the depth of the soup.

French onion soup, croissants, foi grass, and macarons are what I wanted to taste – I was seeking the authentic taste  – when I landed in Paris. I fulfilled my wish with three of them and got a taste of the best foi grass in Lyon.

A traveler’s tip I would like to share – the best onion soups are in the bistros in Paris. A bistro is a small traditional Parisian restaurant with simple décor and has been popular for simple meals, typical of home-style cooking.

We had it multiple times during our week-long stay in Paris and left thinking about making it at home as soon as we were back. So we did make it at home, and my homemade French onion soup recipe has been outstanding. My recipe follows the more authentic versions of the soup, and my family has loved it each time we had it for dinner.

Onion soups have existed since the beginning when man started making soups. It started when onions were grown abundantly; it was easy to take a few onions, chop them, and make a soup by seasoning it.

This soup, much similar in composition to the French Onion Chicken, will surely comfort us often.

The secret behind the best French onion soups

Restaurants and recipe makers serve all kinds of French onions soups – from very ordinary, where several things go wrong, to absolutely delicious ones, where you get worried that your bowls are getting empty soon. Why is there so much difference in taste and texture?

I believe a great French onion soup depends on two things that are essential to get it right:

• A great beef stock
• The caramelization of onions done right

Get the best beef stock

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a good stock. If there is one thing you should splurge your money on, this is it. Get the best beef stock that you can afford.  Much like the French onion chicken, a flavorful stock is vital here.

It decides the layered and rich taste of the soup since the stock forms the base of the liquid in the soup. It gives it body and elevates an excellent soup to a great one which makes you ask for seconds.

Chicken stock is still a good substitute for beef stock as it is much easier to get a tremendous store-bought chicken stock than beef stock. Also, chicken broth can be relatively easy to make at home if you are in for homemade ones.

I had tried it with a few stock cubes from different brands and noticed the difference with the one that costs more but delivered a much better flavor.

Caramelize the onions

The hero of French onion soup is the caramelized onions; hence no surprise that the taste depends on how you cook your onions. Caramelizing onions is time-consuming, and to make a great onion soup, you must commit time to this step.

Cooking onions until they caramelize to the desired amount isn’t difficult but takes time. There might be shortcuts with this, but that won’t give you the best soup.

I can place my hand on my heart and say this – it is worth spending a good 45 minutes to 1 hour on this step. You will thank yourself later :).

Follow the instructions in the recipe and watch the video. I have included some small tricks to speed it up a bit.

A vegetarian version?

How can you make a vegetarian version of French onion soup? There are vegetarian and vegan versions of French onion soup. A good quality mushroom stock is an excellent substitute as it has great flavor. You can make a good quality mushroom or vegetable stock at home too.

Ingredients

Onions – Any one of red, white, or yellow onions works here. Traditionally,, it is made with yellow onions, they have spicy notes but a lot of sugar. As onions are slowly cooked till sweet, the sweetness in yellow onions shines through. You may use a mix of red and yellow onions.

Beef or chicken stock – Spend on good quality stock to get the best out of this soup. Homemade stock works great too. If beef stock is not your preference, chicken stock or broth is a good choice.

Baguette –  is a French bread with a crisp crust and soft interior. It works very well with soups as you can slice and bake it atop the soup. The soft interior soaks up the soup liquid and tastes fantastic with a layer of baked cheese.

Gruyere cheese – the first thing you see is the molten cheese atop the toast, floating on a bed of onion soup. Which cheese can you use here? Gruyère, mozzarella or any other soft cheese is preferred.

White wine – the acidity in the wine helps deglaze the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Flour – All-purpose flour helps in thickening the sauce.

Unsalted butter – is used to sauté the onions. Onions sauteed in butter give the most flavor. You may substitute it with oil but end up with slightly less flavor.

Worcestershire sauce – adds an intense umami flavor to the soup.

Spices – Onions are sauteed with minced garlic. Bay leaf & Thyme are added for some herby flavor.

Salt & pepper – A pinch of salt is added to make the onions release water and caramelize faster. The stock and Worcestershire sauce add enough salt, so not much is required to add to the final soup. Black pepper gives that spicy kick that balances the rest of the flavors. Taste and add as per your tolerance.

Serve

French onion soup is usually served in a ramekin, a small bowl used to bake and that can be directly transferred from the oven to the table to serve an individual portion.

I didn’t have it. I used small oven-safe bowls and transferred the soup using a ladle. Placed the baked bread on these bowls of soup.

What I did next is not often done, but it worked out exceptionally well. Typically, the toasted bread is laid on the soup in a small bowl, and cheese is sprinkled on it. The bowl with the bread on top of the soup is then returned to the oven and baked till the cheese melts.

This is how I was served in many places I had it. If there is some delay in bringing the baked bowls to the table, the bread becomes soft and soggy by the time you cut through it. It tastes good, but you lose the crunchiness that toasted bread should have.

If you are after the crunch of toasted bread underneath the melted cheese, bake the bread with cheese separately in the oven and just lay it over the soup. Serve it like that, and you retain the crunchiness of the bread, at least for the first few bites, until it becomes soft eventually by soaking up the liquid in the soup.