Techniques and Recipes
French Onion Soup
Achieving the quintessential oniony fl avor of this soup requires patience—caramelizing onions is
a slow process. Rushing only yields bitter, burnt results: a problem no amount of cheese can fi x.
MAKES COOK TIME
6 SERVINGS 6–6½ HOURS
SPECIAL SUPPLIES
– Cheesecloth
– Butcher’s twine
– 6 oven-safe bowls,
ramekins, or crocks
INGREDIENTS
Sachet
– 2 bay leaves
– 12 black peppercorns
– 6 large sprigs of thyme
Soup
– 8 pounds (about 8 large)
yellow onions
– 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
– 4 tablespoons olive oil
– Kosher salt
– 1½ teaspoons
all-purpose fl our
– 3½ quarts beef stock
– Freshly ground black pepper
– 2 teaspoons sherry
wine vinegar
Croutons
– 1 baguette, about 2½ inches
in diameter
– Extra-virgin olive oil
– Kosher salt
Finish
– 6–12 slices (⁄-inch
thick) aged Comté or
Emmental cheese, at
least 4 inches square
– 1½ cups grated aged Comté
or Emmental cheese
PREPARATION METHOD
To prepare sachet
Place sachet ingredients in the middle of a piece of cheesecloth.
Bundle the ends and tie closed with a piece of butcher’s twine.
To make soup
1. Preheat French top for 25–30 minutes. 2. In a large, heavy stockpot
over medium heat, melt butter and oil. Add onions and 1 tablespoon
salt, moving the pot towards the outer edge of the French top to reduce
heat to low. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for about 1 hour, or until
onions have wilted and released a lot of liquid. Regulate the heat,
moving the pot around the French top, to keep the mixture bubbling
gently while the onions wilt. 3. Continue cooking onions for about 4
hours more or until onions are caramelized throughout and a rich deep
brown. Stir every 15 minutes, scraping browned bits o the bottom and
corners of the pot. 4. Transfer 1½ cups caramelized onions to a 5-quart
stockpot; reserve extra for another use. 5. Constantly stirring, sift in fl our
and cook over medium-high heat for 2–3 minutes. 6. Add beef stock
and sachet and simmer for 1 hour, or until liquid reduces to 2½ quarts.
7. Remove sachet. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and vinegar.
To make croutons
Cut baguette into ⁄-inch slices. Place on a baking sheet; brush with
olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Broil until golden brown and crisp,
1–2 minutes.
To fi nish and serve
1. Place oven-safe bowls on a baking sheet. Add soup to the bowls,
fi lling within ½ inch of the top. 2. Top each with 2 croutons; do not
submerge croutons into soup. 3. Top croutons with slices of cheese,
overlapping the edges of the bowls by ½ inch. Sprinkle grated cheese
over the sliced cheese, fi lling in any thin areas. 4. Broil until cheese
melts and browns. Serve immediately.
BEFORE YOU START
You can prepare the caramelized onions—
steps 1 through 3—up to two days in advance.
96
97
RANGETOP French Top