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.
11,959 4.0/5
Last modified on: February 22th 2017
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?
| 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 a certain time?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at a certain time?
Work this out...
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at a certain time?
Work this out...
Step by step recipe
| 1 |  | Prepare 700 g onion and chop finely. | 20 min. |
| 2 |  | In a large saucepan or casserole, melt 50 g butter until it froths. | 3 min. |
| 3 |  | When the butter is frothing well, add the chopped onions, salt and pepper. Mix well. | 1 min. |
| 4 |  | Fry the onions on fairly high heat until lightly browned, stirring frequently to stop them burning. | 10 min. |
| 5 |  | Sieve 50 g flour into the pan. | 2 min. |
| 6 |  | Mix in and cook until starting to brown, stirring constantly. | 5 min. |
| 7 |  | Pour in 200 ml dry white wine all at once. | 1 min. |
| 8 |  | Stir until well mixed. Leave to cook for 2 or 3 minutes while stirring. |
3 min. |
| 9 |  | Pour in the chicken stock, made by mixing 2 litres water (hot) with 2 chicken stock cubes. Bring to the boil. |
1 min. |
| 10 |  | When boiling, turn the heat down to its lowest, cover and leave to cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours. | 1 hour 30 min. |
| 11 |  | Meanwhile, butter 4 slices bread and top with grated cheese. Press the cheese down gently to help it stick to the buttered bread. |
5 min. |
| 12 |  | Cut the bread into small squares and arrange these on a baking sheet. Brown under the grill (keep an eye on the colour). | 4 min. |
| 13 |  | When the onion soup is cooked, check the seasoning. | 1 min. |
| 14 |  | Serve piping hot in large bowls, topped with with the cheese croutons. | 3 min. |
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.
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.
Nutritional information
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How much will it cost?
For 8 people : 4.17 €
Per person : 0.52 €
Source: Based on a recipe by Gaston Lenôtre.
More recipes?
This recipe use (among others) | Water: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: French Family Cake, Vegetable stock, How to rehydrate dried mushrooms, Tomato foccacia, How to use gelatin, ... [All] |
 | Onion: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Spinach fritters, Gisèle's Pasties, Langoustine gratin, Meatballs, Carbonnade, ... [All] |
 | Dry white wine: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Potatoes with prawns, Summer Salmon Blanquette, Cured Pork Belly With Lentils, Artichoke hearts forestier , Winegrowers' sausage casserole, ... [All] |
 | Grated cheese: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Stuffed tomatoes and courgettes, Potato and broccoli gratin, Croque-monsieur, Cheese Soufflé, Layered Leek and Egg Gratin , ... [All] |
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