French onion soup
This warming onion soup is an emblematic French dish, both in bistro cuisine and home cooking.
This is a very classic version. The long, slow cooking is the secret to revealing its full flavour.
This is a very classic version. The long, slow cooking is the secret to revealing its full flavour.
51K 35 4.0
Last modified on: December 30th 2019
Keywords for this recipe:For 8 people, you will need:
- 1
700 g onion - 2
50 g butter - 3
50 g flour - 4
200 ml dry white wine - 5
2 litres water - 6
2 chicken stock cubes - 7
4 slices bread - 8 40 g butter
- 9
80 g grated cheese - 10
salt - 11
pepper - Total weight: 3,340 grams
How long does it take?
Time required for this recipe:
| Preparation | Cooking | Start to finish |
|---|---|---|
| 34 min. | 1 hour 55 min. | 2 hours 29 min. |
At what time:
- When will I finish if I start the recipe at ... ?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at ... ? - Work this out...
Step by step recipe
Stage 2 - 3 min.
In a large saucepan or casserole, melt 50 g butter until it froths.
Stage 3 - 1 min.
When the butter is frothing well, add the chopped onions, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Stage 4 - 10 min.
Fry the onions on fairly high heat until lightly browned, stirring frequently to stop them burning.
Stage 5 - 2 min.
Sieve 50 g flour into the pan.
Stage 6 - 5 min.
Mix in and cook until starting to brown, stirring constantly.
Stage 7 - 1 min.
Pour in 200 ml dry white wine all at once.
Stage 8 - 3 min.
Stir until well mixed.
Leave to cook for 2 or 3 minutes while stirring.
Leave to cook for 2 or 3 minutes while stirring.
Stage 9 - 1 min.
Pour in the chicken stock, made by mixing 2 litres water (hot) with 2 chicken stock cubes.
Bring to the boil.
Bring to the boil.
Stage 10 - 1 hour 30 min.
When boiling, turn the heat down to its lowest, cover and leave to cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Stage 11 - 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.
Press the cheese down gently to help it stick to the buttered bread.
Stage 12 - 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).
Stage 13 - 1 min.
When the onion soup is cooked, check the seasoning.
Stage 14 - 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 stage 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.
At stage 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.
Keeping
Several days in the fridge, covered with plastic film.
Source
Based on a recipe by Gaston Lenôtre.
Nutritional information
| Whole recipe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 1,456 Kcal or 6,096 Kj | 48 gr | 240 gr | 98 gr |
| 73 % | 18 % | 23 % | 15 % |
| Per 100 g | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 44 Kcal or 184 Kj | 1 gr | 7 gr | 3 gr |
| 2 % | 1 % | 1 % | <1 % |
| Per person | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energetic value | Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats |
| 182 Kcal or 762 Kj | 6 gr | 30 gr | 12 gr |
| 9 % | 2 % | 3 % | 2 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 8 people : 4.19 €
- Per person : 0.52 €
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
 | Water: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: French Family Cake, How to seal a terrine or casserole dish, Cassoulet, Valay-Brest, Ciabatta, ... All |
 | Onion: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Tabbouleh, Mushrooms on toast, French style, Langoustine gratin, Seven-hour lamb, Chicken with rice and leeks, ... All |
 | Dry white wine: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Fish "à la Bordelaise", Pork chops with a duo of brassicas, How to prepare cockles, Béarnaise sauce, Rabbit with mustard, ... All |
 | Grated cheese: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Cheese Soufflé, Grilled ham and bechamel sandwiches, Sausage buckwheat pancakes, Avengers' potatoes, Chilli chicken and spinach gratin, ... All |
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