French onion soup
Description
A hearty first course. I was wrong to be skeptical about a dish like French onion soup. In reality, it turned out to be very, very delicious. You only need to cook it once to become a lifelong fan. No wonder French cuisine is highly valued and considered the originator of fine dining and indeed of all cuisines.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
To prepare the dish, we need onion, cream, dry white wine, wheat flour, spices, garlic, vegetable or meat broth (can be replaced with boiled water), hard cheese, and baguette.
- 2
Step 2
Peel the onion and slice it into rings or half-rings. The slices should be fairly large. The onion will simmer and caramelize in a frying pan. Pieces that are too small will burn. Finely chop the garlic coarsely.
- 3
Step 3
Heat the pan well. Place a piece of butter and 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into the pan. When the butter melts, add the garlic. Slightly reduce the heat to prevent burning. The butter will melt quickly and slightly change color. Add the chopped onion. Quickly mix it with the garlic and oil, then simmer over low heat until soft.
- 4
Step 4
Pour a glass of wine and simmer the onions in the wine. The alcohol will evaporate, and the onions will acquire a subtle wine flavor. It's best to use dry white wine. If you have rosé, it will also work, but avoid using dry red wine. It will strongly color the onions. Red wine is not suitable.
- 5
Step 5
When the wine has reduced, add 1 tablespoon of flour (level, without a heap) to the skillet. Mix well.
- 6
Step 6
Pour in the broth and stir. At the very end, add the cream and stir again. Simmer the soup in the pan over low heat until smooth. Add spices to taste at the end of cooking. I use a French spice blend.
- 7
Step 7
Cut the baguette into pieces and toast in the oven at 200 degrees for about 5 minutes. Leaving the baguette in the oven for too long will turn it into a plain crouton. We only need to lightly brown the baguette pieces.
- 8
Step 8
Pour a little soup into a baking dish (this could be a ceramic dish like this one, a ceramic pot, or simply a deep, thick-walled ceramic bowl).
- 9
Step 9
Grate the hard cheese on a coarse grater.
- 10
Step 10
Place the browned pieces of bread into the dish with the soup.
- 11
Step 11
Sprinkle with grated cheese.
- 12
Step 12
In the oven at 200 degrees, simmer the soup for about 8 minutes. We need to slightly melt the cheese.
- 13
Step 13
Serve the soup at the table. I recommend sprinkling it with chopped herbs.