Saturday, September 24, 2011

Easy French onion soup with cheesy croutons recipe


French onion soup
When I think of French  onion soup, I get an image of soup topped with lots of cheese and soggy bread. In reality, and fortunately, it is not like that. My mental image of the soup is incorrect. The croutons are crispy, it is not loaded with cheese and the soup is really delicious. It is really creamy, but without any cream.

And for some strange reason I always thought French onion soup was tedious to make, hence I have been avoiding it. I just discovered, on the contrary, it is quite easy to make and requires just a few basic ingredients. However it is time consuming with total cooking time of about an hour and 15 minutes. It is well worth the wait and I certainly will be making this again.

The recipe comes from Wholesome Cook who in turn got it from  Little Kitchen, Around the World by Sabrina Parrini. The book is aimed at 8-12 year olds (and some adults!).

Ingredients
For the soup:
1kg brown onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
50g butter, oil or a mixture of both
2 thyme sprigs, leaves only
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 litre stock (I used chicken stock)
1 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

For the croutons:
8 slices of baguette
¾ cup grated cheese (cheddar or any other cheese that you prefer)

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, add butter and sauté onions and thyme over medium heat until onions soften, stirring frequently
2. Cover the saucepan and cook until the onions have caramelized, about 45 minutes. Stir frequently. Do not let the onions burn
3. Add flour, stir well and cook for a further 2 minutes
4. Add stock, sugar and mustard and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then lower heat, cover partially and cook for a further 30 minutes.
5. To make the cheesy croutons, heat broiler to 180 degrees calcium. Place cheese on top of baguette slices, place on baking tray and broil until cheese has melted.

French onion soup

5 comments:

  1. I like the thought of turning the bread slices into "croutons" - not soggy that way.

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  2. 8-12 year olds eh? Sounds like I can manage that ... I hope. But I'll have to use the cooks torch to brown and melt the cheese. I have an old clunker of an oven with a door that's been threatening to come off any time and it doesn't have a broiler function. (I really need to get a new one).
    I would have loved to see a pic of this tho. Making another batch anytime soon? Hint hint...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cher: exactly

    ping: probably no blow torch for 8-12 year olds. I think it will be fine to bake the croutons. Finally I uploaded the picture. Croutons don't look particularly exciting but it was delicious. I preferred to eat the croutons and have the soup separately, personal choice.

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  4. I think those croutons look delicious! All that sticky cheese ... yum!

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  5. That sounds like a little bowl of Heaven. I am the lone onion soup eater in my house, so I have to eat mine at restaurants.

    ReplyDelete

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