This classic French onion soup is served with blue cheese croûtes for a delicious lunch or dinner.
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Most people are surprised when they hear that French onion soup was once a poor man’s dish, since it is often served in beautiful French restaurants and cafes these days. Cooking soup using onions dates back to Ancient Rome, as a way to make the onion go as far as it could to feed the family over many meals.
It wasn’t until the 18th century that the style of onion soup beloved by many today was created. Some say it was King Louis XV’s hunger and desperation after a hunt that inspired the soup to be made with the ingredients that were available at the hunting lodge. Others say Nicolas Appert, who invented food canning, was also the inventor of the soup, which was made famous when the ex-King of Poland Stanislas Leszczynski stayed at the hotel where Appert was working and fell in love with the dish.
The soup only uses a few key ingredients: onions, beef stock, oil, butter and white wine. Once cooked, it is ladled into bowls before being topped with a small slice of toasted bread and a mountain of grated gruyere and parmesan. These bowls are then put in an oven to grill the cheese. When you use a spoon to break through the cheesy and toasty bread topping, you’ll find a thick brown soup that is both sweet and savoury, tangy and rich, a dish that is perfect for a cold day.
Gather your ingredients and equipment before starting. Make sure you have olive oil, butter, large brown onions, thyme, flour, dry white wine, Coles beef stock, Coles Dijon Mustard, soft blue cheese and Coles Bakery Sourdough Vienna. Brown onions are the best choice for this soup because they’re not overbearingly sweet when caramelised. When choosing stock, beef is the way to go as it has a richer flavour than chicken or vegetable. Equipment wise, you’ll need a knife, chopping board, measuring spoons and cup, large saucepan, wooden spoon, soup ladle, serving bowls and a toaster or oven.
The first thing you’ll need to do is chop the onions in half, then slice them thinly. If you prefer rinsing the thyme before use, do this now. Heat the olive oil and butter in the large saucepan over medium heat. This oil and butter combo has a higher smoking point, which lessens the chances for the butter to burn. Once heated, add the sliced onion and thyme sprigs and stir until the onion softens slightly. Now is the time to cook the onions low and slow, so that it becomes nice and sweet instead of burnt. Place a lid on the saucepan to allow the onions to become soft and light golden, stirring them occasionally. This may take around 10 minutes.
Once the onions are ready, measure out 2 tablespoons of plain flour and stir this into the onions, until the mixture in the saucepan becomes grainy (about 1 minute). What the flour does is thicken the soup. Add white wine to your saucepan, stirring and scraping any onion and butter bits from the bottom so you don’t lose any flavour. After this, add in 1/3 cup of beef stock, 1 teaspoon of Dijon Mustard and 1 cup of water, and simmer the soup until the onions become very soft and the soup is slightly thicker (about 10 minutes).
Finally, take the thyme sprigs out of the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. Your soup is ready!
In traditional French onion soup, individual bowls of soup are topped with a slice of toast and a generous serving of gruyere and parmesan, then popped into the oven to melt the cheese. But there’s another equally delicious way to add cheese to a classic French onion soup recipe without having to put the bowls in the oven. And the best part about it is the cheese stays soft and creamy! How? By making blue cheese croûtes.
Croûtes are essentially toasted slices of bread that are placed on top of each bowl of soup before serving. This recipe’s version of croûtes uses full-sized sourdough Vienna slices instead of a smaller sized loaf, so if you’re wondering what to serve with French onion soup for dinner to make it a main meal, here is your answer!
Toast the slices of sourdough Vienna. Then, get some soft blue cheese and spread this generously on each toast, before dividing the blue cheese croûtes among the French onion soup bowls. Garnish with chopped chives and thyme, and serve with extra blue cheese croûtes on the side.
With these tips and tricks on hand, it’s time for you to go and make the best French onion soup recipe at home! Maybe you’d like to halve the serving size and serve it as a starter to a three-course French meal. Try lamb shank bourguignon for a red meat main, French-style seafood stew for a seafood main, or French-style braised chicken with leek and mushroom for a chicken main dish. Finish the meal with something sweet like Courtney Roulston's strawberry galette with cream cheese pastry, mini chocolate soufflés, apple tarte tatin, or dairy-free coconut and kaffir lime crème brûlées. Wanting some French recipes for an easy lunch? You can’t go wrong with croque monsieur or mixed mushroom and onion galette. Or if you’re looking for more lunch soup recipes, check out the recipes for hearty vegetable and lentil soup, hearty veggie and pasta soup and Italian-style bread soup.
This classic French onion soup is served with blue cheese croûtes for a delicious lunch or dinner.