French onion soup

French onion soup with cheesy croutons

I’d forgotten just how much I adore French Onion Soup until I spent a weekend in Paris with my sister. It was a cold and breezy weekend with plenty of sunshine, but we couldn’t get enough cosy bowls of rich onion soup and cheesy croutons. I’ve been making it ever since and it just feels so comforting on a chilly winter’s day. It’s simple to make, but it does take a little time. It’s a good recipe to get going with while you potter in the kitchen making something else.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the soup:

Olive oil

A knob of butter

6 large onions – finely sliced

1 clove garlic – crushed

1 sprig thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tsp sugar

A generous splash of French Brandy or Armagnac

1 litre (35fl oz) good stock * (see notes)

Salt and pepper

For the croutons:

A day-old baguette * (see notes)

Comté cheese (cheddar or Gruyère also work here)

Method

Melt the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add your onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Stir to coat the onions in the butter and olive oil, turn the heat to low and put a lid on the pan. Leave to cook down for 30 minutes or so, checking and stirring often to ensure the onions aren’t catching on the bottom of the pan.

The onions will cook down considerably, softening almost to a paste and will turn a light golden colour. Sprinkle over the sugar and stir through. Cook for a further 15 minutes with the lid off the pan to deepen the colour of the onions, they should turn a rich golden brown. Don’t be tempted to turn up the heat to speed things up or you risk burning your onions. It may take a little longer than 15 minutes depending on the onions and on the day.

Add a generous splash of brandy or Armagnac and let it bubble away while you stir the onions, scraping the bottom of the pan to release any colour and sticky bits. Add the stock and stir again. Taste and season with salt and pepper and fish out the thyme and bay leaf. Leave to bubble for 10 minutes.

Pre-heat your grill to its highest setting. Divide the soup between four bowls, tear the baguette into chunks and place a handful into the top of each bowl. Grate over a generous amount of comté using a fine grater. Put the bowls on a sturdy baking sheet and slide under the grill and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbling, usually about 3-5 minutes – keep an eye on it. Serve immediately while the cheese is still bubbling – but take your time to eat it because it will be very hot.

Notes

  1. The secret is a decent stock – traditionally it would be a good dark beef stock. If I don’t have any homemade stock in the freezer I tend to use three beef or chicken stock cubes to a litre of water, which makes it a little stronger in flavor than it usually is. If you’re vegetarian a good vegetable stock is perfect.
  2. If you don’t have any leftover bread you can use fresh – just tear it into chunks, drizzle with a little olive oil and place in the oven at 180c/350f for 10 minutes or so to crisp up. The bread needs to be crisp and dry enough to hold up in the soup rather than instantly turning to mush.

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