French onion soup is built on two main components — broth and onion. Specifically, you need a fresh, natural beef broth and properly prepared onion. The soup has a rich, deep flavor and aroma, achieved through a long, slow sauté of the onion. The onion should be sautéed for at least 40–60 minutes; some recipes even call for cooking it for several hours to develop different layers of flavor. French onion soup also often calls for dry white wine or cognac to deepen the flavor profile. Feel free to add either one if you like.
Ingredients:
- 1 liter ready-made broth (or 200–300 g beef + allspice berries)
- 700 g onion
- 50 g butter
- salt
- pepper
- For serving:
- several slices of white bread
- 50 g cheese
How to cook french onion soup
Make the beef broth. Place the meat in a pot and cover with 1.2 liters of water. Season with salt and add the allspice berries. Simmer for 1–2 hours until the meat is fully cooked.
Add the onion, stir to combine, and cook over low heat with the lid on for 1 hour. The onion should not burn — it should gradually take on a brownish color, not from high-heat frying, but from long, slow cooking. The onion at the start of cooking.
After one hour. The onion should be a deep brown color, with a soft, creamy texture and a mellow, sweet flavor.
At this point, most French onion soup recipes suggest ladling the soup into individual oven-safe crocks, placing the cheese toasts on top, and baking in the oven for 5–10 minutes until the cheese is melted. I did it a little differently — I put the bread with cheese in the microwave for a few seconds until the cheese melted, then ladled the soup into bowls and placed the cheesy bread on top. Serve the onion soup hot.
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