Onion soup. Onion soup is a classic recipe. Parisian onion soup: tender and delicious

35 minutes

23 kcal

5/5 (1)

Onion soup is legendary French dish. According to one version, the soup appeared in France in the 17th century and was considered the food of the poor, as it consisted of onions, broth and bread crumbs. A classic with a modern twist onion soup is a broth with a lot of fried onions, cheese and croutons. How can you prepare something tasty from such a set of products, you ask? It’s very easy, the French generally know how to make a masterpiece out of everything they touch.

The main secret of making onion soup is to simmer the onion itself for as long as possible without overcooking it. Typically, onions are sautéed in a thick-bottomed frying pan in butter or olive oil for about half an hour, and sometimes longer.

The onion soup turns out very rich with a pleasant creamy aroma and the most delicate taste. And the stretchy cheese with a fresh, crispy baguette will make you eat every last crumb.

Often, for a richer taste, dry white wine is added to the soup, and then infused a little with the lid closed before serving.

There are a huge number of recipes for making onion soup. It may contain potatoes, mushrooms, cream, chicken, various spices, etc. I want to tell you classic recipe this delicious soup, which has been prepared in our family for several generations.

Classic French onion soup recipe

Kitchen utensils: knife, cutting board, tablespoon, grater, frying pan, silicone brush, small baking dishes.

Ingredients

Step-by-step preparation

First, let's peel the onions.

Did you know? For classic onion soup, white, sweet onions are used to help them caramelize when fried. You can replace it with regular yellow, but in this case you will need to add one teaspoon of sugar.

Cut the onion in half and then chop it into half rings.
Melt the butter in a frying pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the chopped onion. If necessary, add a pinch of sugar.
Stirring occasionally, fry the onion over medium heat until it begins to caramelize and acquire a golden color. This process will take you at least 20 minutes.
While the onions are frying, you can prepare the croutons. Cut the baguette into thin slices. Lubricate each piece olive oil using a brush.
Place the croutons in a heatproof dish and bake for about 5 minutes. You can toast the baguette in a frying pan or in a toaster. For more flavor, you can grate the croutons a little with garlic.
When the onion has become soft and golden, begin adding broth. Pour it in gradually so that the moisture evaporates. It is better to use vegetable or chicken broth, but beef broth is also great. First add 200-300 ml of broth, salt and dried thyme. Stir the onion and wait until the mixture thickens.
Then add the remaining broth, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat so that the soup is not liquid.
When the excess moisture has evaporated and the soup is medium thick, remove it from the heat. At this stage, the soup can already be served, but we will continue to cook it in the oven to get a very tender consistency and a golden cheese crust.
Place the soup in a small baking dish, leaving room for croutons and cheese on top.
Place croutons on top and sprinkle with a generous handful of grated cheese.
We put it in a preheated oven just to melt the cheese.

When the cheese has melted, you can take out our soup.
We decorate our onion soup with dry thyme leaves. The steam from the hot soup will make the smell incredible.

Cooking video recipe

Watch the video on how to properly prepare French onion soup.

Once you try my soup recipe, you will be making it all the time. It warms you up perfectly on cold winter evenings and goes great with festive table as a hot dish.

Don’t miss the recipe for the most delicate and very fragrant and light.
The French are constantly improving their recipes and adding new ingredients. Therefore, if you ask them what the “classic” onion soup recipe is, you won’t get a definite answer. They will all be slightly different, but the same ingredients will remain onions, broth, croutons and cheese.

IN next recipe I will tell you how to prepare that same French onion soup with a special aroma and even more enhanced taste with the addition of dry white wine.

Classic onion soup recipe with white wine

Cooking time: 40 minutes.
Number of servings: 2.
Kitchen utensils: knife, cutting board, tablespoon, grater, frying pan, baking sheet, small baking dishes.

Ingredients

Step-by-step preparation

Chop the onion into half rings. The classic recipe uses white onions, but you can try making leek soup.
Cut the baguette into small slices.
Grate the cheese.
In a tall, thick-bottomed frying pan, melt the butter and add the onion.
Sauté the onion over low heat for at least 20 minutes. Simmer until the onion turns golden brown.
Next, fry the croutons. The easiest way to do this is in a frying pan or in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Brush the baguette with olive oil on each side, place on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for a few minutes until crispy.
When the onion has turned golden, add sugar to it and, stirring, fry until it caramelizes.
Gradually add broth and simmer until excess liquid evaporates. The soup should not be liquid, but not too thick.
When the soup is medium thick, add wine and bring the soup to a boil.
Then cover with a lid and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Season everything with salt and pepper.
Place in small heat-resistant molds, place slices of toasted baguette on top and sprinkle with grated cheese.
Place the soup in a preheated oven until the cheese melts and a delicious cheese crust forms.

Bon appetit!

Authentic French onion soup is a very simple dish. The composition does not contain many ingredients - lovers of complex first courses will be disappointed. There are a dozen editions of this soup, each famous chef has his own version. However, the differences do not change the basics: the ingredients of French onion soup remain onions, broth, croutons and cheese; often dry white wine. And in any version, the soup, which at first glance seems rustic, turns out to be rich in taste: tender, sweetish, with aromatic ruddy cheese crust above.

The main secret of French onion soup is long frying of the onions. During frying, the sugar contained in the onion heads slowly caramelizes, the color becomes ruddy, and the taste is indescribably “oniony,” deep and delicate. Dry wine neutralizes the sweetish taste and makes it complete. Croutons with cheese become soft and tender when served, turning the soup into a kind of thick cream. Prepare your taste buds for a feast: onion soup with cheese bread is an exceptional pleasure!

Cooking time: 60-70 minutes | Yield: 1.5 liters of French onion soup

Ingredients

700 ml meat or vegetable broth
350 g onions (4 medium heads)
150 ml dry white wine
70 g cheese
50 g butter
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon flour
1 small baguette (or similar bread, such as ciabatta)
salt, pepper - to taste

Preparation

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Peel the onion and cut into half rings.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the onion in it over low heat, stirring constantly.

When the onions begin to turn golden, crush two cloves of garlic and add them to the pan.

Sauté together for 4-5 minutes, then add flour to the onion. Flour will make the soup smoother and slightly creamier.

Pour the broth into the onion and mix well so that there are no lumps of flour left.

Add wine to the soup.

Season the soup with salt and pepper, cover it with a lid and let it simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the baguette into 1.5-2 cm thick slices and toast in the oven or toaster.

Rub on coarse grater cheese.

Pour the prepared onion soup into a heat-resistant bowl and place dried bread on top. Ideal for onion soup, as it has a dense crumb and large pores, thanks to which it absorbs liquid well, but does not get soggy and does not turn into “porridge”. It is similar in consistency.

Place a thick layer of cheese on top of the croutons.

Place the onion soup under the grill for 10 minutes until the cheese melts and browns.

Serve the dish immediately while the soup is still very hot. Pour the soup into bowls, placing a crouton with cheese in each bowl. You can sprinkle the dish on top with chopped green onions. The amount of croutons and green onions is strictly to taste. I like it thicker.

Revision of French onion soup: cream soup

The recipe with wine is not suitable for everyone. As for thyme, it is a favorite herb of the French; it is often added to dishes and soups too. A slightly different ratio of ingredients and a different technology should not confuse you. But the absence of garlic will please many. As well as a short step-by-step summary.

Amount of ingredients for 6 plates:

5 onions, sliced into thin half rings
3 tablespoons fresh butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 liters chicken, beef or vegetable broth
bay leaf
black ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 baguette
a little olive oil (or butter)
200 grams grated Gruyere cheese

Brief preparation method:

1. Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the onion in it until transparent.
2. Pour flour into the pan and, stirring, continue to fry the onion and flour until golden brown (not brown).
3. Pour boiling broth into the pan, add salt and pepper, add bay leaf, thyme and cook the soup for 20-30 minutes (until the onion is completely soft). Then put the soup through a blender and puree.
5. Cut the bread into slices, place on a baking sheet and drizzle olive oil on top. Place in the oven and keep there until you get crackers. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the toasted bread and leave it on the grill until the cheese melts.
6. If necessary, heat up the pureed French onion soup, pour it into bowls, and before serving, put 1-2 croutons covered with melted cheese in each bowl.

Nutritional value of 1 serving - 240 kcal (meat broth).

Onion soup is perhaps the most controversial dish in French cuisine. Surely everyone who came across a mention of it in novels imagined a liquid broth in which a boiled onion floats alone, and wondered how THIS could be considered a delicacy. Some lovers of French literature honestly tried to make soup from one onion, simply by boiling it and even grinding it in a blender, and were even more perplexed. It turned out that cursory mentions of French onion soup in books without detailed descriptions its taste and method of preparation for a long time caused distrust of French cuisine among people who were poorly familiar with it.

Onion soup has been known since Roman times. At that time, onions were available to ordinary people, so they were used to make soups.

The recipe for French onion soup, which we know now, appeared in France in the 17th century, and included other products in addition to onions, but the secret of the soup lay in the correct processing of the main ingredient. Properly sautéed onions will make the soup truly flavorful. The highlight of this dish is that when the onion is completely cooked, white wine is added to it, which gives the soup an aroma and a special taste.

According to a famous French legend, onion soup was once prepared by Louis XV himself. The king was hunting and was forced to spend the night in a hunting lodge. At night, Louis XV became hungry, but apart from onions, butter and champagne, the king could not find other products in the entire house. At the request of the king, all the listed ingredients were mixed, and it was then that the first French onion soup appeared, prepared by the monarch himself.

How to make onion soup at home

Onion soup with gorgonzola cheese

Ingredients:

5 onions,
100 g Gorgonzola cheese,
5 tbsp. l. butter,
25 g Swiss cheese,
2 tbsp. l. cognac,
bread crumb,
nutmeg on the tip of a knife,
ground black pepper,
salt to taste.

Preparation

Fry the chopped onion in oil, pour in 1.5 liters of water, add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Place sliced and oven-dried bread in a pot, add Gorgonzola cheese and fill with onion soup to no more than 3/4 of the volume, pour in cognac, add grated Swiss cheese. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes.

Onion soup with lamb

Ingredients:

400 g lamb,
800 g onions,
2 tablespoons rendered fat,
3 tablespoons greens (chopped)
to taste - pepper, salt

Cooking method

Cut the meat into small cubes, fry until golden brown, add finely chopped onions and continue frying for 5 minutes, then add hot water and cook at low boil for 40-50 minutes, season with salt and ground black pepper. When serving, sprinkle the soup with chopped herbs.

Onion soup with croutons

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast,
4-5 potatoes.
8-9 pcs. onions (preferably silver).
1 carrot,
butter for frying,
bread,
green,
peppercorns,
3 liters of water.

Cooking method

From chicken breast cook the broth. Remove the breast and strain the broth. Place the diced potatoes in the broth and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Cut the onion into thin half rings and fry in oil until translucent. Then add the carrots cut into thin strips and fry until golden brown. When the potatoes are almost ready, put the pitted meat, onions and carrots into the pan. Add salt, season with spices and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Before serving, pour the soup into bowls. Place croutons (pieces of bread, dried and fried in oil on both sides) in the middle of each plate. Place a handful of grated cheese on top of the croutons. Since the soup is hot, the cheese will melt quickly. Garnish the dish with finely chopped herbs.

Piyova - Uzbek onion soup

For 2-3 servings:

10 onions (about 1 kg) of any variety
0.5 kg of bones, from which the meat is almost removed
50 g vegetable oil.
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

First, peel and cut the onion. It doesn’t matter at all how - rings, half rings, thin, thicker... The sharper the knife, the greater the guarantee that the onion will not knock out a tear.

Heat the oil in a cauldron or wok and add the bones.

Fry the bones very well until the remaining shreds of meat on them are dark brown.

Then lower the temperature and pour in about half a liter of hot water. The roasted bones need to be cooked at a moderate boil for about 20 minutes. Then you need to increase the temperature and evaporate the remaining moisture so that only fat remains.

We remove the bones from the fat - they have done their job and we no longer need them. Let's put the boiler aside so that it cools down, remove all the “excess” from the fat - fragments of bones, meat fibers, which invariably gets into the oil during frying.

Return the pot to the stove, add the onion to it and, stirring it constantly, adjust the temperature under the pan so that the onion does not fry, but simmers. This is very important!

We absolutely do not need fried-semi-fried onions in this dish!

Cover the cauldron with a lid and simmer the onions, stirring them constantly, for at least two hours. This is the minimum! At the same time, we will observe how it will change color during simmering - from pale white to intense cream. After simmering for two hours, pour about a liter of boiling water into the onion, let it simmer gently for 3-4 minutes and add salt to taste.

Pepper - black or red - is best added directly to the plate.

Onion soup according to the recipe of the Polish King Stanislaus

Ingredients

For 500–600 ml of water

1 loaf of bread with crusts
100 g butter
4 large onions
1 tbsp. l. seasoning mixtures (rosemary, basil, thyme, garlic, sage)
1 tbsp. l. salt
1/2 tbsp. l. ground black pepper

Preparation

Cut the crust off the bread, cut it into pieces and fry in a dry frying pan for 3 minutes. Mix the croutons with half the butter and fry again until crisp, then place on a plate.

Cut the peeled onion into half rings and carefully separate them from each other. Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan and fry the onion until golden brown, add croutons and fry for another 5 minutes.

Pour boiling water into the pan, add seasonings, salt and pepper, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.

Traditional onion soup

Products:

2 carrots
1 parsnip root
4 onions
3 tbsp. spoons of vegetable
oils
spices and salt to taste

Preparation

Peel the onion and finely chop it. Grate the peeled carrots and parsnips on a coarse grater or chop finely. Place the prepared products in a saucepan with a thick bottom, add oil and salt. Stir and simmer covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spices. Pour in 1 liter of hot water. Cook for 10 minutes after boiling.

Onion soup with chicken broth

Ingredients:

2 chicken drumsticks
500 g onions
180 ml white wine
100 g wheat crackers
100 g cheese
Green
pepper

Preparation

Pour 1.5 liters of water over the drumsticks and boil with salt until tender. Remove the bones and chop the meat. Chop the onion and lightly fry in half the oil. Season with pepper. Place in hot broth and cook for 15 minutes. Add salt and add wine. Fry crushed almonds in the remaining oil, add to the soup, stir, and heat. Pour into plates. Place pieces of meat and croutons on each plate. Sprinkle with grated cheese and chopped herbs.

Onion soup with cheese

Ingredients:

5 onions
3 tbsp. spoons of crushed almonds
150 g hard cheese
5 sprigs fresh basil
a pinch of dried Provençal herbs mixture
ground black pepper
4 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil

Preparation

Cut the onion into half rings and fry for 5 minutes in half the oil, seasoning with a mixture of herbs. Pour boiling water, salt and pepper, cook for 7 minutes. Add grated cheese and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until melted. Fry the almonds for 3-4 minutes in the remaining oil and sprinkle the finished soup into bowls. Garnish with basil sprigs.

French onion soup

Ingredients:

500 g onions
2–3 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil
1.5 liters vegetable broth
3 tbsp. spoons of crushed almonds
180 ml white wine
2 pieces wheat bread
150 g hard cheese
rosemary
pepper

Preparation

Chop the onion and lightly fry in half the vegetable oil. Season with pepper. Place the prepared onions in the hot broth and boil for 15 minutes. Add salt and add wine. Fry crushed almonds in the remaining oil, add to the soup, stir, and heat. Pour into plates. Place a piece of toasted bread on each plate and sprinkle with grated cheese and rosemary.

Czech onion soup

Ingredients:

300 g onions
200 g leeks
8–10 potatoes
100 g curd cheese
2 tbsp. spoons of butter
100 g wheat crackers

Preparation

Chop the onion, cut the leek into rings. Fry in butter until soft. Boil the potatoes in 2 liters of water (leave the broth), peel. Place the prepared potatoes and onions into the potato broth. Add some salt. Puree using a blender. Add grated cheese, heat, but do not boil. Add croutons to the plates with the finished soup.

English onion soup

Ingredients:

600 g onions
20 cm celery stalk
2 tbsp. spoons of butter
2 tbsp. spoons of flour
a pinch of ground nutmeg
1 liter of milk
2 cloves garlic
3–4 pieces white bread
Pepper

Preparation

Sauté chopped onion and celery with butter until soft. Add flour, cook, stirring, 5-7 minutes. Pour in the milk, stirring in a thin stream. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add crushed garlic and pieces of white bread to the plates.

Onion soup - classic recipe

Ingredients:

5 onions,
1 carrot,
40 g parsley root,
100 g celery,
50 ml vegetable oil,
2 tbsp. l. flour,
salt to taste.

For croutons:

5 slices of wheat bread,
3 tbsp. l. grated cheese
3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil.

Preparation

Boil 1 onion, chopped carrots, parsley root, celery, and salt. Coarsely chop the remaining onion and fry for vegetable oil with flour until golden brown, pour in a little broth and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add to vegetable broth and bring to readiness. Make croutons by sprinkling them with cheese. Serve soup with croutons.

As you know, the word " restaurant" comes from the verb restorer- to restore, and in the first Parisian restaurant, damaged health was restored to strong broth. The restoration of royal power was also called the Restoration, by the way. Years passed, and the Parisians came up with a much more effective way to regain strength at dawn. This is what he writes in his autobiographical book: “ Journeyman"The famous Jacques Pepin, who was once the personal chef of General de Gaulle, and is now a favorite of the television public:

“One of my favorite pastimes while working in Paris was to go with my fellow chefs and scullions to Les Halles, the large market in Paris that stretches along many streets in the Chatelet district.

The excitement on the streets and in cafes began around three in the morning and ended around 7-8. Our night forays more often than not ended in " Pork leg", the most typical late-night tavern in Les Halles. There, hefty and loud butchers in blood-stained aprons rotated next to elegant Parisians in tails and Parisian women in evening dresses who dropped in for a bottle of champagne and a late dinner after a performance at the Opera or theater. The restaurant was famous for its onion and cheese gratin, one of the best in Paris, and hundreds of portions were served nightly.”

Restaurant recipe onion soup definitely simplified to the point of utilitarianism, although it must be admitted that it began with a pair of onions in a hunting lodge. Then King Leopold brought him to the top, but that's another story.

What you need

Perhaps it’s worth starting with a simple version - having mastered it properly and loved it as passionately as Louis, Dumas and Pepin, you can move on to complications. Some complications along the text are given in italics in square brackets.

Onion soup has been popular in Europe since ancient times, and it was prepared mainly in poor families. The modern version of onion soup appeared...