Classic French Onion Soup Recipe

French soupe à l'oignon

French Onion Soup

So I was watching the wonderful movie Julie and Julia when I had a sudden craving to try one of Julia Child's French recipes. Then I remembered that amazing French Onion soup I had on my last visit to Paris and how I wish I could re-create that magic. So I looked up Julia's recipes and found this classic French Onion Soup recipe which I simplified and it turned out absolutely decadent! Noting spells comfort food better than this French Onion Soup recipe! Must try it to believe it! Read on!

Slice up 3 white onions. Heat a tablespoon each of oil and butter together in a heavy bottomed pan. Add some garlic paste or finely chopped garlic, a bay leaf and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme.. Let the onions cook till they're tender with the lid on for about 15 minutes on low heat. Next up, caramelize the onions on medium high heat by adding a teaspoon of sugar. Once onions are browned and caramelized, add half a cup of red wine. Once the wine starts bubbling, add a tablespoon of flour and stir. Continue cooking till the mixture thickens. Add chicken or beef or vegetable stock and bring the soup to boil. Finally add salt and pepper to taste.

Brush some butter/ oil on the surface of a couple of one inch thick bread slices. You can use a baguette if you wish to. Toast the slices in an oven to make them turn light brown and crunchy. 

Pour your soup into two oven proof bowls and fill only two thirds of each bowl with soup. Then, place your slices on each bowl of soup by dunking them half way so that the slices of bread start soaking the soup but aren't entirely covered in soup. Grate some Gruyere cheese or Mozarella and Cheddar cheese over your soup bowls to completely cover the soup and bread slices with cheese. If the bowl is not overflowing with cheese, it's not onion soup! 

While still bubbling in the oven!

Add very little grated raw onion on the cheese. Drizzle some melted butter or oil over the cheese and sprinkle very little paprika seasoning/ chilli powder over the cheese. Pop the bowls into the oven till that cheese bubbles away to glory and turns wonderfully brown and beautifully aromatic! This should take not more than 10 minutes on 175 degrees Celsius. 

If it's not overflowing, its not French Onion Soup!

So go ahead, give this a try and you will thank me for the rest of your lives! I just had a bbig bowl of this soup and I still can't stop drooling at the sight of these pictures. So I'm gonna go now and clean up my kitchen! You go try this and let me know how you liked it in the comments section below!

Much love,
SaloFalo
xoxo