French Onion Soup
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Traditional French Onion Soup with Cheese
This is one of the very best French onion soup recipes because it begins with homemade consommé rather than canned broth or bouillon cubes. French onion soup is traditionally made with homemade consommé for a fresh, clean flavor.
The consommé in this recipe contains beef broth as well as vegetables but you can make it with bones, vegetables, and herbs if you prefer. There are plenty of different consommé recipes you can choose from although consommé recipes are all very similar and the cooking methods are all pretty much the same too.
This is a very tasty traditional French onion soup with cheese recipe and using the vegetable rich homemade consommé adds an extra flavor dimension to the recipe and makes it taste truly homemade. For the perfect appetizer, serve this traditional French onion soup recipe in a set of matching French onion soup crocks and nobody will be any less than truly impressed with this dish.
Traditional French Onion Soup Recipe with Homemade Consommé
Ingredients -
3 medium onions, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups beef consommé (below)
2-4 slices French bread, toasted
Monterey Jack cheese, sliced
Beef Consommé:
2 (10 1/2 oz. each) cans condensed beef broth
1 soup can water
1 small onion, sliced
1 small carrot, sliced
1 small stalk celery, sliced
2 sprigs parsley
1 small bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
Preparation:
First of all, make the beef consommé. Combine the consommé ingredients in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down to a slow simmer, cover the pan and cook it for 30 minutes, then strain it through a sieve or cheesecloth. The strained liquid is your consommé.
While the consommé simmers, cook the onions in the butter, in a covered pan for 30 minutes over a low heat. Stir them occasionally. Add the consommé and heat it to boiling. Reduce the heat, then cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pour the soup into oven safe bowls (2 - 4, depending on portion size). Place a slice of toasted French bread in each bowl, then top with slices of cheese. Place the bowls on a cookie sheet and cook them for 10 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly.
(Serves 2 - 4)
Why Traditional Recipes are Close to Our Hearts
As much fun as it is to sample new recipes and exciting modern fusion cuisine, there are reasons why traditional recipes will always be popular. A traditional recipe is one which has stood the test of time without changing much or at all.
A traditional French onion soup recipe is an example of a traditional dish which is perfectly flavored and balanced and therefore not likely to change in the future. French onion soup has been made the same way for decades and it is this classic taste that we love so much.
Other Traditional Dishes
The British are very much into traditional foods and this includes roast dinners, which would be incomplete without roast potatoes, gravy, and either stuffing (for chicken), Yorkshire puddings (for beef), or cranberry sauce (for turkey).
More Traditional Dishes
Fish and chips is another example of a traditional British dish and this English delicacy is often served with mushy peas or baked beans.
Traditional recipes, like a traditional French onion soup with cheese, are those, which have been passed down the generations.
Perhaps you have fond memories of a dish which your mother or grandmother made and therefore when you recreate the recipe, you associate it will good memories, making it taste even nicer and more comforting.
Tasty and Traditional French Onion Soup
Chefs like to try to improve on classic recipes and might experiment with, for example, a traditional French onion soup recipe. They might change different elements of the dish to personalize it or they might make it meat free for vegetarians, use a different cheese for people who dislike Gruyere or combine two different onion varieties for a sweeter, stronger, or tarter flavor.
However, it is difficult to beat perfection and no other broth goes as well with the sweet onions as beef broth, no other cheese has the right combination of tanginess, creaminess and nuttiness as Gruyere and no other topping works quite as well as a melted cheese covered slice of French bread, making the original and traditional French onion soup recipe a real gem because it is such a simple dish, yet a perfectly balanced one.
Many Comfort Foods are Traditional Foods
Traditional foods can be pick-me-ups and eating something you remember fondly from your childhood has a comforting, soothing effect. Traditional foods are traditional because they taste too good to lose favor and fall out of vogue.
There are traditional appetizers, traditional entrees, traditional desserts, and even traditional beverages in every culture. French onion soup might have its roots in France but it is a popular and traditional dish all over the world.