Hands up: where are the Francophiles among you? In this country, there are significantly more people who consider the French to be arrogant and unfriendly than those who love France. I belong to the latter group. For one thing, I speak the language, which means that French people have always been very attentive and friendly to me. For another, I simply find the country wonderful: the beautiful language! The incredible food! The cheese! The wine! And Provence, which actually smells of Herbes de Provence, like lavender and herbs! Simply incredibly beautiful.
I am also very fond of French cuisine. French onion soup is a real classic that offers an incredible amount of flavour, yet consists of only simple ingredients and is very easy to prepare.
From poor people's food to classic bistro cuisine
Soupe à l'oignon comes from simple peasant cuisine. Onions were (and still are) easy to grow, cheap, storable and therefore always available. Hundreds of years ago, poor people certainly skimped on butter and did not have easy access to wine and cognac, there's no question about that. The refinement only came with the rise of restaurants.
Today, French onion soup can be found in practically every French bistro. It is the French equivalent of pancake soup. It is truly amazing how much flavour can be conjured up from a kilo of simple yellow onions. The trick, by the way, is to braise the onions for a long time. Of course, the soup can be prepared more quickly for those in a hurry (and without wine and cognac for those on a budget), but I believe that if you're going to do it, you might as well do it right. In this half hour, the onion rings not only develop a delicate aroma from being sautéed, but also begin to caramelise.
Besides, and I like to be pragmatic, this half hour gives us enough time to drink a glass or two of white wine. French customs are not only wonderful when it comes to cooking, I tell you. I love the French way of drinking wine at almost any time of the day. Life is hard enough, so why should you go without good wine?
Serving suggestions
I recommend the onion soup as a starter, perhaps as part of a lovely French menu. For example, as a prologue to a wonderfully tender Boeuf Bourgouignon (which I will also publish in due course). Or in the cold season as a really cosy and warming little dinner.
If you feel like it, you can bake more cheese sandwiches than you need the night before and take the soup and cheese sandwiches separately to work the next day. The soup can be quickly reheated in the microwave or in a pot, add the cheese sandwich and ta-da – a wonderful and light office lunch that will make all your colleagues green with envy!
Oh, I love France! I'm planning to go to France for four to six weeks in 2021, to Marseille, and take a French course there so that I can once again label my language skills as ‘fluent’. By then at the latest, you'll be inundated with French goodies. So it can't hurt to get in the mood with some French onion soup. ❤️
French onion soup
Ingredients
Method
- Peel the onion and cut it into thin rings or half rings.
- Melt the butter in a suitable saucepan.
- Add the onion. Reduce the heat to medium and cover the pot. The onions must simmer for at least 30 minutes. Caution: Stay with them and stir frequently, otherwise the onions will burn.
- Deglaze with white wine and cognac. Add beef stock and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, grate the cheese and spread it over the four slices of bread. Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and the bread is crispy.
- Divide the soup between four bowls and place a cheese sandwich on top of each one.
