Classic onion soup. Onion soup - classic recipe

25.07.2023 | Internet

Onions are a very healthy and aromatic vegetable. The best way to appreciate its taste is to prepare a traditional French soup. According to legend, Louis XV wanted to eat at night, but there was nothing in the hunting house except champagne, onions and butter. The king mixed the ingredients, and the result was an original soup. Today it is prepared on the basis of meat or vegetable broth, and the soup owes its bright aroma to sautéed onions.

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Ingredients for making onion soup

In order to cook French onion soup as successfully as possible, you first need to prepare the following products: - 700 g of onions; - 50 g of butter; - 3 tablespoons of flour; - salt to taste; - 1 tablespoon of olive oil; - 1/4 a teaspoon of granulated sugar (it will help the onions acquire a rich brown color); - 2 liters of meat broth; - 0.5 cups of dry white wine; - 150 g of hard cheese (Parmesan or Gruyère); - loaf or baguette; - ground black pepper to taste; - 2 cloves of garlic; - 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil.

There are many varieties of onions that differ in their taste: sweet, semi-sharp and spicy. In this case, you need to use golden onions

How to make onion soup: recipe

A very important stage is the correct cutting of the onion; this step must be approached with special responsibility. Sharpen the knife well and periodically wet it and the onion itself in ice water, this way you can avoid teary eyes. Remove the golden skin from the onion and cut it in half, cutting into very thin half rings. At first glance it may seem like there is a lot of onion, but there is no need to deviate from the recipe.

Onion soup has been popular throughout Europe for a long time; it was prepared mainly in poor families. A more modern version of this first dish appeared in France in the 17th–18th centuries.

Take a large saucepan and put it on fire. Melt butter mixed with olive oil in it. Place chopped onions in a bowl, sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and sugar. Stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon and cover the pan with a lid, reduce heat and simmer the onions for 30 minutes. Make sure that the onion does not stick to the bottom and does not burn; stir it very often. Next, add flour and stir for 3 minutes, during which time the onion should turn brownish.

Pour hot meat broth (which should be prepared in advance) into the bowl, add half a glass of dry white wine and cook for 40-60 minutes without covering with a lid. The liquid should decrease in volume.

Prepare the croutons. Squeeze a couple of cloves of garlic into the sunflower oil and let it brew for 20 minutes. Strain the oil and pour into the pan, let it heat up thoroughly and add the sliced baguette. Fry it on both sides until golden brown. Pour the onion soup into clay portion pots, top with a piece of fried bread and generously sprinkle with grated cheese. Place the pots in an oven preheated to 180°C for 20 minutes. Serve the onion soup hot.

Onion soup for the French is like borscht for us. There are legends about this interesting dish - romantic and not so romantic. According to one version, onion soup was cooked back in the Roman Empire, and in the 17th century, when the classic recipe for onion soup appeared in France, it was considered a poor man's dish, since it consisted of only three ingredients - beef broth, bread crusts and fried onions. According to another version, the soup was accidentally invented by the French king Louis XV, who woke up in the middle of the night from hunger in a hunting lodge. It is not clear where the servants were, but the king managed to get champagne, butter and onions from the pantry. From these incompatible products, he prepared a dish that is called the ancestor of modern onion soups served in every French restaurant.

It's easy to whip up at home because it comes together quickly and doesn't require too many ingredients. Your family is sure to love this mouth-watering soup, and even kids who don't like onions will love this dish. The fact is that the pleasant and delicate consistency of onion soup leaves no hope of choice - you want to eat it to the last spoon and ask for more.

Secrets of making classic onion soup

Modern onion soup is a huge amount of onions in a broth with croutons and cheese. Other products are also added to it, but the main component is onion. And it doesn’t matter what kind of broth the soup is cooked in - meat or vegetable. The main secret of this dish is proper sauteing, which should last at least half an hour.

Thinly sliced sweet onions are fried in a cast iron frying pan with a thick bottom over low heat with constant stirring. Onions are usually sauteed in a large amount of butter or olive oil, but most often the oils are mixed to improve the taste. If you manage to fry onions for an hour without overcooking or drying them out and bringing them to a pleasant golden brown color, you can be called an onion soup virtuoso. It is for the ruddy tint that sweet varieties of onions are taken, since they caramelize well. In this case, you should first saute the onion over high heat so that it releases water, and then reduce the heat to a minimum and simmer - the longer the better. Some cooks add a little sugar to the onions at the end, especially if bitter varieties were used.

Flour is added to the onion, lightly fried, and then poured with water or broth, diluting it with white wine, brandy or sherry to add a piquant taste. Then cheese or feta cheese is added to the dish, infused for a while and served with croutons. Sometimes the soup is baked in the oven in pots until the cheese melts - in this form it turns out especially aromatic. You can use regular crackers or make your own croutons from a French baguette, sprinkling them with grated cheese. Even a novice housewife can master this simple and unpretentious recipe.

There are various ways to prepare onion soup. Garlic, mushrooms, spices, lemon juice, cream and milk are added to it. Sometimes the soup is cooked with potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage, with the addition of nuts, cereals and sausages. Some soups contain fish, tomatoes, pork ribs, pumpkin and broccoli, but cheese is not present in all recipes. The idea of this dish has spread throughout the world, and now every national cuisine has its own unique soup with a lot of onions, which claims to be called onion.

Parisian onion soup: tender and delicious

The French themselves have already forgotten how to cook properly, and are constantly coming up with new recipes, one tastier than the other. This is how they make onion soup in Paris. This simple recipe is suitable for those who are very busy and plan to quickly cook a hearty dish and feed it to the whole family.

6-8 medium onions are cut into cubes and sautéed in 3 tbsp. l. butter until golden brown. Next, add 3 tbsp to the onion. l. flour, fry it for a couple of minutes and pour in 6 cups of broth, not forgetting the bay leaf and ground black pepper. After half an hour of slow cooking, the soup is salted, the bay leaf is removed and poured into plates, into each of which a slice of dried white loaf is placed and ¾ cup of grated cheese is added. The French love Gruyère and Emmental cheese, sometimes cutting it into slices and putting it on toast. The plates are placed in a warm (not hot) oven so that the cheese melts, and then they begin tasting, and the French additionally place a cup of grated cheese on the table. You can't ruin onion soup with cheese!

Spanish onion soup: delicious without cheese too

A little unusual recipe, but worth a try. Six onions are finely chopped, boiled in a small amount of broth, rubbed through a sieve or crushed in a blender. You will need about 1½ liters of broth, 2 tbsp. l. Fry flour until beige in 2 tbsp. l. butter, gradually pour in the remaining broth, making sure that there are no lumps. Add grated onion and 2 yolks mixed with a glass of cream to the soup. Bring the aromatic soup to a boil and immediately remove from heat. For some reason, the Spaniards do not add cheese to onion soup, but like to eat it with soft wheat bread, spread with a thick layer of country butter.

Onion soup "Vichyssoise": from an American Frenchman

A very unusual cold one, invented by a French chef who worked in a New York restaurant and was homesick for his hometown of Vichy. That is, it is an American-style French soup. Melt 50 g of butter in a frying pan and fry 3 onions, cut into rings, and 450 g of the white part of the leek. Fry the onion for about 20 minutes, without bringing it to a golden color, add 250 g of diced potatoes to the frying pan, and after a few minutes pour in a liter of broth or water, salt, pepper and cook until the potatoes are ready. Cool the soup and beat in a blender, add 300 g of cream, spices and the juice of one lemon. This delicious delicacy is served with finely chopped chives.

Now you know how to make onion soup your signature dish. Experiments in the process of preparing onion soup are welcome, the most important thing is to follow the basic rules of the recipe - lots of sweet onions, good broth and crispy croutons!

The French are real masters when it comes to cooking. Each recipe is a masterpiece in which everything is surprisingly harmonious. Unnoticed (and unexpectedly) I have accumulated quite a few favorite French dishes. I am happy to share them with you. Today we will talk about French onion soup. A very famous dish that is worth making at least once.

Interestingly, sauces occupy a significant place in French cuisine. There is even a saying that the English have many religions, but only three sauces, and the French have many sauces, but only three religions. In fact, according to rough estimates, there are about three thousand sauces, can you imagine that?

The Story of French Onion Soup

Onions have always been the cheapest and most accessible vegetable since the times of the Ancient Roman Empire. Therefore, soup from it was mainly prepared by the poor. The modern version of onion soup is believed to have originated in France during the reign of Louis XV.

According to one version, Louis himself came up with the recipe. And it happened as follows. His Highness stayed up late alone in his hunting lodge and got hungry. And the only food items are champagne, butter and onions. So he welded everything together. But this scenario seems unlikely to me; it would be more likely that all the cooks within a radius of 100 leagues would be woken up to feed the monarch, rather than he would stand at the stove himself. There is also a second legend. It’s as if French onion soup was prepared in Parisian markets for traders and workers. I believe in this much more

Classic onion soup recipe

Onions always seemed like an unnecessary ingredient to me. It floats on the surface and only spoils the whole picture. The idea of making an entire dish out of just onions seemed ridiculous. I put off my acquaintance with onion soup for a long time, which I now regret.

I took the recipe from a collection of French cuisine. The ingredients are simple and any housewife can find them. Prepare onion soup in small portions at a time. It is believed that it should be eaten fresh. Before you start cooking, stock up on courage and handkerchiefs. Believe me, peeling and cutting a kilogram of onions is no joke.

The secret of the soup is in the correct sautéing of the onions. It is important to ensure that nothing burns. Frying will take 30 to 40 minutes (professional chefs can take as long as an hour). The onions should turn golden brown in color, which is obtained due to the caramelization of the sugar contained in the juice.

The aroma of French onion soup is incredible. This composition of thyme, cheese and fresh bread works flawlessly, making you want to try it as soon as possible. Break up the cheese crust with a spoon, get to the thick sauce and enjoy. And if you want to make the taste more savory, I recommend adding a little dry or semi-sweet white wine at the end.

Nutritional value (per 100g)

Calories: 23
Carbohydrate content: 3,3
Fat content: 0,7
Protein content: 1,5

By 07/01/2018

Onion soup is an unusual dish for us, but nevertheless a very tasty dish of French cuisine. Thick, rich, it will perfectly warm you up and fill you to satiety.

French onion soup: Ingredients

- 3 glasses
- 3 tbsp. l.
- 3 tbsp.
- 3 tbsp. l.
- 1.2 l meat
- 1 PC
- 1/4 tsp.
- 1 branch
To submit
- 100 gr
- 1 PC

Step-by-step instruction

Peel the onion and cut into half rings; in total you should have 3 cups (1 kg of onion).
Place the onion with butter in a saucepan and fry until it turns golden brown. This should take you 20-30 minutes, but don't ignore this step, it's very important, just be patient.

So let's start preparing this foreign delicacy. Peel the onion and cut into half rings. Let me warn you right away, there will be a lot of tears. At least I cried beautifully, but not for long, only while cutting onions :). In a saucepan in which you will cook the soup, a pot with thick walls is best, melt the butter and butter. Throw in all the onions, add salt and pepper, simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring from time to time.

After simmering the onions for 20 minutes, add sugar and continue to simmer until a nice golden color, remembering to stir. While the onions are stewing, prepare some viscous herbs. To do this, take bay leaves, rosemary and thyme and tie them tightly with thread. When the onion turns golden, add the wine. Simmer until excess liquid evaporates. Add flour, continue to simmer for a minute. Pour the broth into the pan and throw in a bunch of herbs. Cook for 12-15 minutes.

It is advisable to salt the soup at the very end of cooking, because during cooking the water evaporates and the soup may become over-salted. Pull out the viscous mixture with herbs and turn off the heat. But this is not the end of this exciting process. Grate the cheese on a medium grater. Fry the croutons in a dry frying pan on both sides. Rub with garlic. Pour into portioned ceramic molds or cups. Place a slice of bread on top. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 5 minutes until the cheese crust is golden brown. Now let’s try and... enjoy the taste. It is quite specific and unusual. Perhaps I’m used to having something else floating in the soup besides onions. And here it’s a solid onion :).

However, the experiment-study of French cuisine was a success; no one left the kitchen hungry :). I’ll tell you frankly that perhaps this dish is quite unusual for Ukrainian stomachs and looks more like gravy. However, all the flavors in the dish are balanced; wine and herbs highlight the taste of the onions and add a more refined taste. Croutons and cheese, in my opinion, are integral components of this dish, which without them tastes poorer.

I’ve been wanting to make onion soup for a long time; it was interesting to try the classics of French cuisine. The cooking process turned out to be very inspired and interesting. The result turned out better than I expected :). After all, I admit, I didn’t have much hope for the soup, which contained a kilogram of onions. I was wrong. It turned out tasty and not cloying. Exquisite in French. I wish everyone bold experiments and expansion of their culinary horizons. Bon appetit!

At one time I went through many recipes for “French onion soup” and, oddly enough, they were all radically different from each other. I wanted to find a basic base, a classic, so that the soup would be rich, bright, real, like in a cozy cafe with access to a terrace on the outskirts of Paris. And I found this recipe from Julia Child. Simple, but requires some time - about 3 hours, most of which you are just watching the pan to make sure nothing happens.

A few words about the main component of the famous soup:

Onions are one of the oldest vegetables grown by humans. Onions have been known in the Mediterranean region since the 4th millennium BC, and since then they have been an essential ingredient in many dishes. Onions heal and protect against diseases, onions make dishes tastier and more aromatic, onions contain a large supply of nutrients and vitamins and are considered a powerful aphrodisiac.

What can an onion do? Avicenna, in the canon of medical sciences, wrote about onions as a remedy for bad water (throw chopped onions into the water), for contaminated wounds (lubricate the wound with onion juice), for eyesores (lubricate your eyes with onion juice mixed with honey), for sore throats (drink onion juice). juice) and to strengthen a weak stomach. Onions really protect against pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The simplest example is a cold, which goes away quickly if the smell of freshly chopped onions is in the house. Onions help not only to get rid of the disease, but also not to catch it. Everyone knows perfectly well about this ability of onions, but not everyone uses it because of the specific onion smell. Onions can also increase appetite and food digestibility. First of all, this happens due to the smell, which causes the production of gastric juice necessary for digesting food, and secondly, due to the substances contained in onions. Onions are a wonderful seasoning. It makes food moderately spicy, flavors and concentrates the aroma. Remove onions from most dishes where they are used, and the food will seem bland.

Onions are very diverse. There are about 400 types of onions on the planet, only a dozen of which are actively consumed. Most types of edible or culinary onions are found in Asia. Onions have a fairly wide range of aromas and tastes, from spicy-bitter to spicy-sweet. First of all, you should pay attention to several main types of onions.

For the soup we will use the most common one in our country - golden onions. Onions have a lot of varieties, which are divided into three groups (according to taste): spicy, semi-sharp and sweet. The same rule applies to this onion as to other types: the further south, the sweeter. In the south of Russia, sweet varieties of onions are grown, in the north - spicy ones. The value of an onion is determined not by the degree of sweetness (although this opinion is widespread), but by its purpose. Each specific culinary task has its own type of onion. For example, for sauces, in fish dishes or for sautéing with vegetables, it is better to use hot onions, and for fresh vegetable salads or cold appetizers - sweet varieties.

(Culinary Eden)

Ingredients:

700 g onions
45 g butter
1 tbsp. l. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Sahara (helps onions become a deeper brown color)
3 tbsp. l. flour
2 liters of meat broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
pepper to taste
slices of French bread (replace with a simple loaf)
1/2 cup Gruyère cheese, grated

1. Be sure to cook meat broth with a bouquet . This will give your soup a special richness and bright aroma.

2. Gruyere cheese (French Gruyere) is a traditional Swiss cheese produced in the Gruyere region (canton of Friborg) in Switzerland and got its name from the region where it is produced. This is a hard yellow cheese without holes, which has a sharp, piquant aroma and a slightly nutty taste.

You can replace it with any hard cheese - Parmesan works well.

3. French baguette can be replaced with a simple slice of loaf. But, because if the bread is fresh and soft, it will immediately absorb all the broth and turn into porridge. To do this, I fried the loaf slices in garlic butter until golden brown.

5. You definitely need portioned clay dishes in which you can bake. Pots work well.

Preparation:

It is important to chop the onion correctly. To avoid irritating your eyes, wet the onion itself and a very sharp knife in cold water from time to time.

Cut the onion into two halves.

Remove the golden skin.

And cut very thinly into half rings.

Leave only the tail.

Onions may seem like a lot at first glance.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and olive oil. Add onion, sprinkle with salt and sugar, stir with a wooden spoon.

Cover with a lid and keep on medium heat for 30 minutes. Stir very often, because... The onion will stick to one and you need to prevent it from burning.

Sprinkle with flour and stir for another 3 minutes.

Pour hot beef broth into the pan with onions, add wine and cook for 40 minutes to 1 hour without covering. The liquid should decrease slightly in volume.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Toast the bread:

Squeeze a little garlic into the olive oil and let it sit for 15 minutes. Strain it into a frying pan, let it heat up well and only then add the bread. Fry on both sides until golden brown.

Soup:

Pour the finished soup into portioned clay cups or pots.