French onion soup
Step by step recipe:
- 20 min.
- 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 1½ 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.