French Onion Soup
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How to Make French Onion Soup
Between 1980 and 2000, soup making seemed to go out of vogue for many home cooks but soup sales and soup ingredient sales have really taken off recently, as people realize the diversity and versatility of homemade soup recipes. If you have never learned to make French onion soup before, you will be delighted to discover how easy making onion soup actually is. The key to making a good onion soup is patience.
You will need to caramelize the onions, which means cooking them slowly over a low heat until they are soft and golden brown. This can take an hour or more, depending on the recipe and the onions. When the natural sugars in the onion are released, the onions caramelize. If they start to brown on one side instead of browning evenly, you can add a few drops of water to the pan and give the onions a good stir so the caremelization evens out.
If you are going to use a bouillon cube to make the beef bouillon for this French onion soup, you should simmer it with some leek, onion, and carrot first and then strain it. This will improve the flavor and quality of the resulting bouillon. If you are making this French onion soup recipe for someone with a gluten intolerance, you can use corn flour instead of all purpose flour and omit the cheese crouton, using some grated cheese as a topping instead.
Simple French Onion Soup with Cheddar Cheese Toasts
Ingredients -
1 lb 9 oz onions, chopped
4 cups brown beef bouillon
2 oz butter
1 big garlic clove or 2 small ones, chopped
½ bay leaf
Dash of brandy (optional)
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 tablespoon tomato puree
3 oz mature Cheddar cheese, grated
4 slices bread
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
Preparation:
Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pot and add the garlic and onions.
Cook over a moderate high heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
Add the flour and cook for another few minutes. Add the beef bouillon gradually, followed by the tomato puree. Add the brandy and herbs, bring the onion soup to a boil and season it.
Turn the heat down and simmer if for 15 minutes.
Toast the bread and cut a circle from each pieces with a knife around a mug or with a pastry cutter.
Sprinkle grated cheese on each toasted circle and broil it until the cheese melts. Ladle the soup into 4 serving bowls and top each one with a slice of cheese toast.
(Serves 4)
Photo Description:
You can see the key ingredients for this French soup recipe in this onion soup photo, including the delicious shiny-skinned onions, cheddar cheese toasts, thyme and garlic cloves. If you are learning how to make French onion soup, it is important to know that you can substitute ingredients when you need to. You can use any kind of cheese in this French onion soup recipe, for example, rather than sticking to Cheddar and you can use another kind of onion if you prefer. Sherry is Spanish yet more common in French onion soup recipes than brandy but you can use whichever you like.
How to Make French Onion Soup for Everyone
If you want to know how to make French onion soup that everybody will like, it might be best to consult them before choosing a French onion soup recipe. If you are making a big pot of French onion soup for guests, it is best to make one of the easy French onion soup recipes which contains all the classic flavors, like beef broth, caramelized onions and a sprinkling of thyme, so that people know flavor wise what to expect.
Serving French Onion Soup
Traditionally, French onion soup is served topped with French onion soup cheese over croutons made from French baguette bread. You can make toast and serve it, covered in hot melted cheese, on the side if you wish. That way, anyone who wants onion soup without the traditional cheese crouton can eat the soup without adding the bread or the French onion soup cheese. Serve salt and black pepper too, so people can add extra seasoning to their onion soup, and maybe a dish of grated parmesan, in case anybody wants to make their French onion soup extra cheesy. Try to use matching soup crocks if possible, for an elegant presentation.
How to Make a French Onion Soup in a Hurry
Sometimes guests drop by without being invited and, although this can be annoying and leave you flustered and wondering what to make them, it has happened to nearly everybody. The great thing about French onion soup is that you can rustle it up in thirty minutes flat if you have to. As long as you have beef broth or bouillon cubes, onions, bread and cheese, you can make one of the easy French onion soup recipes. If you have longer to cook, it is obviously worth making classical French onion soup, complete with the slow caramelized onions. However, hungry, last minute guests do not always get the choice!
How to Make French Onion Soup for Vegetarians
If you have vegetarians coming to dinner but you still want to make French onion soup, you can use vegetable broth instead of beef broth. French onion soup is renowned for its beefy flavor, as well as its sweet strips of caramelized onion, but vegetarians cannot have it both ways. Actually, the vegetable broth adds a wholesome flavor to the soup and goes nicely with the sweet onions. Be generous with the croutons and cheese to make up for the non-traditional flavor and your French onion soup recipe should be very popular with everybody.
Tips to Make French Onion Soup Extra Special
If you want to learn how to make French onion soup, there are a few things to bear in mind. First of all, using a high quality broth and caramelizing your onions properly are absolutely crucial if you want to make French onion soup, which is delicious rather than mediocre. The traditional French onion soup recipe cannot be beaten, so stick with a classic French onion soup recipe, use thyme as well as a splash of wine or sherry in the soup and top it with toasted French baguette bread and a handful of gruyere cheese for the very best results. French onion soup is easy to make and difficult to get wrong, which is one of its top attractions.