Well, let me tell you about this here French Onion Soup, or whatever them fancy folks call it, “soupe à l’oignon gratinée.” Sounds like a mouthful, don’t it? It’s just onions and beef juice, mostly, but cooked up real nice and slow.
You see, them onions, they gotta be cooked till they’re near ’bout black. Not burnt, mind you, just cooked down real good. Some folks, they don’t cook ’em long enough, and the soup, it ain’t right. It ends up tastin’ bitter, like somethin’ went wrong. But when you cook them onions right, oh honey, it’s like magic. They get sweet and soft and just melt in your mouth.
Now, this soup, it ain’t nothin’ new. Been around for ages, they say. Way back when, folks didn’t have much, and onions, well, they growed easy. So, they made soup. Kept ’em warm, kept ’em full. It wasn’t fancy, but it filled your belly. Then, sometime back in them 1700s, they opened up this big ol’ market in Paris, and this soup, it got famous. Go figure.
- First, you gotta get yourself some good onions. Yellow ones, they work best, I reckon. Slice ’em up thin, not too thick, not too thin.
- Then, you need some beef juice, what they call “beef stock.” You can buy it, or you can make it yourself if you’re feelin’ fancy. I just buy it, ain’t got time for all that fuss.
- And some butter, real butter, not that fake stuff. And a little bit of flour, to thicken things up.
So, you melt that butter in a big pot, and you throw in them onions. And you cook ’em. And you cook ’em some more. Low and slow, that’s the key. Don’t rush it. It takes a while, but it’s worth it. You gotta stir ’em now and then, so they don’t stick. And after a while, they start to turn brown, and then darker brown, and then, finally, that beautiful dark color you’re lookin’ for.
Then you sprinkle in some flour, just a little bit, and stir it around. And then you pour in that beef juice. And you let it simmer. For a long time. An hour, maybe two. Just let it do its thing. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes.
Now, some folks, they put wine in it. Or sherry, whatever that is. I don’t bother with that stuff. Just onions and beef juice, that’s all you need. And salt, of course. And pepper. Gotta have salt and pepper.
And then, the best part. You take that soup, and you pour it into little bowls. And you put a piece of bread on top, and some cheese. And you stick it under the broiler, just for a minute or two, till the cheese gets all melty and bubbly. Oh, it’s somethin’ else, let me tell you.
So, what’s the difference between just plain onion soup and this here French Onion Soup? Well, from what I hear, the real French kind always uses that beef juice. Other onion soups, they might use chicken juice or vegetable juice, or even that beef juice. But the French one, it’s gotta be beef. And it usually has that wine or sherry stuff, but like I said, I don’t bother with that.
This soup, it’s been around since way back when. Even them Romans, they ate onion soup. So, it’s gotta be good, right? Somethin’ that’s been around that long, it’s gotta be good.
So, there you have it. That’s all there is to it. French Onion Soup. It ain’t fancy, but it’s good. It’s warm and filling and it’ll stick to your ribs. And that’s all that matters, ain’t it?
Tags: [French Onion Soup, Soup Recipe, Onion Soup, Classic French Dish, Easy Soup, Comfort Food]
