Name: French onion soup
Prep time: 34 min
Cook time: 1 h 55 min
Total time: 2 h 29 min
Yield: 8 people
Ingredients: 700 g onion; 50 g butter; 50 g flour; 200 ml dry white wine; 2 litres water; 2 chicken stock cubes; 4 slices bread; 40 g butter; 80 g grated cheese; salt; pepper

Step by step recipe:

20 min.
Prepare 700 g onion and chop finely.
3 min.
In a large saucepan or casserole, melt 50 g butter until it froths.
1 min.
When the butter is frothing well, add the chopped onions, salt and pepper. Mix well.
10 min.
Fry the onions on fairly high heat until lightly browned, stirring frequently to stop them burning.
2 min.
Sieve 50 g flour into the pan.
5 min.
Mix in and cook until starting to brown, stirring constantly.
1 min.
Pour in 200 ml dry white wine all at once.
3 min.
Stir until well mixed.

Leave to cook for 2 or 3 minutes while stirring.
1 min.
Pour in the chicken stock, made by mixing 2 litres water (hot) with 2 chicken stock cubes.

Bring to the boil.
1 hour 30 min.
When boiling, turn the heat down to its lowest, cover and leave to cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
5 min.
Meanwhile, butter 4 slices bread and top with grated cheese.

Press the cheese down gently to help it stick to the buttered bread.
4 min.
Cut the bread into small squares and arrange these on a baking sheet. Brown under the grill (keep an eye on the colour).
1 min.
When the onion soup is cooked, check the seasoning.
3 min.
Serve piping hot in large bowls, topped with with the cheese croutons.

Remarks:

Use either white or yellow onions, but preferably not red ones, as they are less suitable for the long slow cooking.

At Step 4 of the recipe, there are 2 conflicting schools of thought: some prefer the more traditional method of cooking the onions until they are dark brown, others (like me) only brown them lightly - it's a matter of taste, of course. I remember as a child staying with my grandmother Jeanne. She used to cook her onions until they were really dark and, back then, I loved that.

For the grated cheese, choose whatever you prefer that browns well, such as Comté, Gruyère or even Emmental.

Source:

Based on a recipe by Gaston Lenôtre.

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