French Onion Soup : a classic parisian recipe !
In the 19th century, this soup from Lyon, was one of the favorite dishes of the people working at Les Halles, the gigantic food market located in the heart of Paris. Later, night birds liked to eat it to regain strength after partying all night in le Gai Paris de la Belle 12345201;poque. It had the reputation to prevent hangover...
Easy to do, it is a great dish to serve any time with a nice baguette and a mixed salad. You got a nice meal for only a few bucks per person.
Ingredients for 4 :
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4 medium size onions, sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped
- 100 ml (half a cup) red wine
- 1300 ml (6 cups) beef stock
- 3 branch of thyme
- 2 small bay leaves
- 1 baguette
- 100 g (half a cup) grated gruyère, emmanthal or cheddar
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Cook the onion and the garlic together slowly on low heat for at least 15 minutes. Don't let them burn. They should be soft and nicely caramelized. It is the biggest secret to do a nice onion soup.
- Add the wine, the beef stock, the bay leaves and the thyme to the onions. Bring to boil. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes approximately
- Cut half of the baguette in big slices. Toast the bread on both sides.
- In ovensafe bowl, pour the soup, add one or many toasted bread slices and spread with grated cheese on top.
- Put the soup under the grill in the oven until the cheese melts and becomes golden. Serve very hot.
C'mon ! Soup is ready !
For those who don't like onion rings floating in their soup, use your blender or your food processor to get a texture you like.