French onion soup
Einheiten
Portionen
Zutaten
- 1 1/6 kg yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced gerundet
- 60 g unsalted butter gerundet
- 15 ml neutral oil gerundet
- 12 g fine salt gerundet
- 20 g plain flour gerundet
- 200 ml dry white wine gerundet
- 900 ml rich beef stock gerundet
- 500 ml reduced chicken stock gerundet
- 2 bay leaves gerundet
- 6 g fresh thyme gerundet
- 15 ml sherry vinegar gerundet
- 240 g baguette, cut into 12 slices gerundet
- 240 g Comté or Gruyère, coarsely grated gerundet
- 2 g black pepper gerundet
Zubereitung
Method
- Melt the butter with the oil in a wide heavy pot. Add onions and 8 g salt. Cook uncovered over medium-low heat for 60 to 75 minutes, stirring more often as they darken, until mahogany brown but not burnt.
- Stir in the flour for 2 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the pot clean; reduce by half.
- Add both stocks, bay, and thyme. Simmer uncovered for 35 minutes, skimming as needed.
- Remove the herbs. Add sherry vinegar and pepper. Taste before adding the remaining salt; the soup needs enough acidity to lift the sweet onions and gelatinous stock.
- Toast the baguette slices until dry and pale gold. Heat the grill or oven to 220°C.
- Divide soup among six ovenproof bowls on a tray. Float two toasts on each and cover with Comté. Grill or bake 5 to 8 minutes until melted, bubbling, and browned. Rest 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- The stock is the backbone. Use gelatin-rich homemade stock or a good unsalted commercial stock reduced until it lightly coats a spoon.
- For an alcohol-free version, replace wine with 150 ml stock plus 30 ml apple juice and add another 5 ml sherry vinegar at the end.
- The soup base keeps four days refrigerated and freezes for three months; add bread and cheese only when serving.
- Quantities are reconstructed and remain
needs-review.