Julia Child's French Onion Soup
Here is a recipe for French Onion Soup as presented by Julia Child. I have taken the liberty to adjust a few ingredients so that those of us living far from large markets can make this amazing soup.
Here is a recipe for French Onion Soup as presented by Julia Child. I have taken the liberty to adjust a few ingredients so that those of us living far from large markets can make this amazing soup.
- 1 bay leaf
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 8 ounces parmesan cheese grated
- 3 tbsp flour
- 2 pound onions thinly sliced
- 6 cups beef broth using bouillon cubes
- 1 tbsp kitchen bouquet
- 3 tbsp cognac
- 1 cup wine red or white
- 1 bunch thyme tied together
- 1/2 tsp ground sage
- soup topping
- 1 pound swiss cheese grated
- 8 slices baguette toasted
- 4 ounces olive oil
- Carbohydrate 42.7238378023255 g
- Cholesterol 147.7889038 mg
- Fat 62.8194578637282 g
- Fiber 3.74923398380407 g
- Protein 63.9840445842339 g
- Saturated Fat 31.801302603679 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (812g)
- Sodium 3206.87887674523 mg
- Sugar 38.9746038185214 g
- Trans Fat 3.50430331547045 g
- Calories 1023 calories
Step-by-step
- In a cast iron stock pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat, add butter and olive oil and heat until butter is melted and blended with the olive oil.
- Add the onions and toss until they are evenly coated.
- Cover the pot and cook until the onions are very tender and translucent (about 20 minutes).
- Uncover, add the sugar and salt, stir well and increase the heat to medium/medium-high and cook, stirring often until the onions have browned and reduced significantly.
- When onions have reached a rich brown color and have reduced to less than a fourth of their original mass, reduce heat back to medium-low and sift flour over onions.
- Stir constantly until the flour browns, making sure not to scorch or burn the flour.
- Once the flour reaches a deep color, turn the heat back to medium-high and quickly add the wine to deglaze the pot.
- Add the cognac, beef bouillon stock, kitchen bouquet, thyme, sage, and bay leaf.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove cover and taste the soup, adding salt and pepper as needed.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice a Baguette into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices.
- Lay the slices onto a sheet pan and drizzel the olive oil on both sides of the slices.
- Toast the slices 15 minutes on each side.
- Ladle the soup into a bowl, top with toasted baguette, top each bowl with 2 ounces swiss cheese and 1 ounce parmesan cheese.
- Place the bowl under the broiler until the cheese is melted and turns brown.
- Top the melted cheese with a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper.
Ingredient quantities on a page rarely explain how heavy-bottomed cookware behaves when batch sizes fluctuate. Translating a multi-pound onion reduction from a massive restaurant stovetop down to a standard home dutch oven requires careful volume management. Overcrowding a small vessel traps steam, preventing the crucial Maillard reaction necessary for deep color development.
- When scaling onions down, use a heavy cast-iron or enameled dutch oven that holds the sliced alliums in a thick enough layer to caramelize evenly without burning the edges.
- Monitor doneness visually rather than relying on a thermometer; the onions must reduce to less than a fourth of their original mass and turn a rich, mahogany brown before the flour is added.
- Watch the flour stage closely because the starches transition from light tan to deep brown within seconds at medium-low heat, requiring constant stirring to prevent scorching.
- Adjust liquid volumes proportionally if halving the yield, ensuring the ratio of beef broth, red or white wine, and cognac remains balanced so the aromatics do not overpower the broth.
Baking the baguette slices at 350 degrees for 15 minutes per side creates a sturdy crouton that resists dissolving immediately under the hot broth and melted swiss and parmesan cheeses. Broiling the assembled bowls until the dairy bubbles and browns provides the final textural contrast needed for this classic presentation.
