French Onion Soup
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Lattice Pastry Topped French Onion Soup with Veal Broth
This is an extra special variation of French onion soup, in which a puff pastry lattice is used to top the soup. Because this is such a stunning looking French onion soup recipe, it makes an excellent appetizer at a dinner party. You can also serve it for lunch or as a special supper. The puff pastry layer is very easy. You simply have to put the pastry over the soup and bake it until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. The French onion soup cheese goes on top of the pastry and melts when you bake it.
When working with pastry, it is important to keep it chilled. This means using it straight from the refrigerator, using cold utensils and working on cold work surfaces, else it starts to get sticky and a lot harder to work with.
The veal broth used in this pastry topped French onion soup recipe gives it a sophisticated flavor and the goose fat (or duck fat) gives the caramelized onions a truly luxurious finish. If you want to impress your dinner guests, this wonderful veal broth French onion soup is definitely the way to do it.
Gourmet French Onion Soup with Veal Broth
Ingredients -
3 ½ tablespoons goose fat or duck fat
1 pint white wine
4 ¼ pints veal broth
6 sprigs thyme
8 onions, sliced thinly and evenly
2 heads of garlic, finely chopped
6 tablespoons grated gruyere cheese
12 squares puff pastry, about ⅕ inch thick and 1 inch wider than the soup bowls
2 beaten eggs
Preparation:
Melt the goose or duck fat in a heavy pan on a low heat, and then add the onions.
Cook them over a low heat for about 40 minutes, or until they caramelize. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Pour the white wine into the pan and scrape at the stuck on bits on the bottom. Add the thyme and veal broth and cook the French onion soup until it is reduced by a third.
Remove it from the heat and divide it between 4 bowls.
Chill the bowls of soup in the refrigerator.
Measure the puff pastry so it fits an inch over the bowl rim and put it over each bowl.
Seal the edges firmly into the soup bowls.
Brush the egg wash over the pastry and then sprinkle the grated gruyere over the top.
Cut the rest of the pastry squares with a lattice cutter and spread them over the top of the pastry lid, sealing the edges over the first pastry layer.
Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and put the bowls of soup on a cookie sheet or shallow roasting tray.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
(Serves 6)
Special Toppings for an Onion Soup Recipe
French onion soup, as you know, is traditionally topped with toasted French baguette bread and melted gruyere cheese but it is possible to alter the toppings without altering the meaty, beefy broth and sweet onions. You can use puff pastry to top a French onion soup recipe, if you prefer, and top the pastry with cheese. In effect, you are replacing the bread with pastry but a puff pastry topped bowl of soup looks really special, so you might like to try it out. You can omit the bread if you want to. If you are not keen on cheese, use garlic butter or garlic mayonnaise instead.
Pastry Topped Soup - Too Filling for an Appetizer?
A pastry-topped bowl of French onion soup might look like a dauntingly hefty appetizer but remember that puff pastry is so named because it puffs up when you bake it. A small bowl of French onion soup topped with puff pastry is no more filling than a small bowl of French onion soup topped with a toasted slice of bread or two. Puff pastry rises three of four times higher when it is baked because it is made in layers, so even though the serving looks big, it is not too filling because there is a lot of air in it.
What is Puff Pastry?
Puff pastry is made with water, flour, and salt. After the dough is made, it is rolled out extremely finely and assembled in layers with butter in between each layer. When you use puff pastry to top an onion soup, a savory dish, or a dessert, it puffs up with a light and delicate texture. You can make puff pastry yourself at home but, because you need so many layers and it takes a long time, it is easier to buy it fresh or frozen and use it that way.