Onion soup

French soup, which was prepared using stewed onions, gained popularity among poor European families in ancient times. Several decades later, many changes were made to the technology of preparing a hot dish, as a result of which it turned into an interesting, tasty and incredibly healthy masterpiece. This dish is suitable for lovers of proper nutrition; it is highly recommended for various diets. A properly prepared dish can quickly reduce body weight, despite its nutritional value and vitamin content.

Recipes for onion soups delight with their variety, although previously, according to the old tradition, they were prepared from onions, beef-based broth and rye bread crusts. It is not forbidden to put chopped vegetables in the pan for satiety and improved aroma, replace the onion with leeks or onion greens.

Both children and adults can prepare such a savory treat. Kids will be delighted with the soup, pureed and cooked in onion and vegetable broth. The creamy taste of the finished dish will not leave anyone indifferent, so it will delight all family members and will be remembered for a long time.

Onion soup - a classic French recipe

Classic onion soup is the most delicious and original hot dish that can be served on the dinner table. A properly prepared first course is invariably served in the best Parisian restaurants. You can prepare the dish in a regular kitchen, and the aroma from it will spread throughout all rooms of the house.

Main components:

500 gr. onions;
500 ml. vegetable or meat broth;
30 gr. red wine;
50 gr. butter;
1 tbsp. l. wheat flour;
100 gr. hard or semi-hard cheese;
1 baguette;
2 tsp. Provençal herbs;
1\2 tsp. ground black pepper;
1-2 tsp. table salt.

Onions should be purchased in a white color because the soup made from them tastes better. The taste of the finished dish will directly depend on the quality of the cheese and butter.

Cooking method:

Chop the onion into thin strips. Place in a deep frying pan or saucepan and fry in butter over low heat for about 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the sautéed onion with flour and fry, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes. Pour wine into the roast, after 5 minutes add broth to the container. Reduce heat to low and simmer the soup for about 15 minutes with the lid tightly closed.

Slice the baguette thinly with a sharp knife, place the slices on a wire rack and place in the oven under the grill for 5 minutes. Add spices and salt to the soup base.

Grate the cheese on a coarse grater and sprinkle it over the soup poured into a portioned clay pot. Before the cheese shavings, place the croutons broken into pieces on the surface.

Bake the mixture in the oven until the cheese is completely melted and a crust forms.

The finished dish is aromatic and satisfying, so those who hate onions will like it. Household members like the clear broth, the cheese from which reaches for the spoon. The indicated volume of liquid can be adjusted depending on the wishes of the cook. The secret of the taste of the finished hot dish directly depends on the duration of frying the chopped onions.

How to cook classic French onion soup according to a step-by-step recipe with photos

2-3 servings

1 hour

22 kcal

5/5 (1)

Today I will introduce you to a classic recipe for French onion soup. It is quite popular in Western countries and very tasty. The ingredients used for it are the simplest, so you can easily prepare it at home. Due to the unusual recipe and method of preparation, the soup was called “Graten”. Make this soup this coming weekend and experience the taste of French cuisine at home.

Kitchen utensils and appliances: oven, hob, saucepan, heat-resistant portion soup bowls.

Ingredients

Medium onion	1 kg
Vegetable oil	2-3 tbsp. l.
Butter	1 tbsp. l.
Salt	2 pinches
Dry white or young wine (or apple cider vinegar)	200 g
Flour	1 tbsp. l.
Beef or vegetable broth	1 l
Thyme	2-3 branches
Rosemary	2-3 branches
Bay leaf	1-2 sheets
Pepper	1 pinch
Cognac or brandy	20 g
Garlic	1-2 cloves
Bread	2 slices
Cheese of your choice	200-400 g

Choosing the right products

The main ingredient of the soup is onion. Choose firm, juicy, medium-sized onions of any variety. If the onions are spoiled or saturated with moisture, they will be difficult or impossible to caramelize.

Step by step recipe

Cut 1 kg of onion into half rings. You can choose any onion.
To prepare the dish, choose a container with a thick bottom. This could be a cast iron frying pan or saucepan. Place the dishes on a hot stove, add 1 tbsp. l. butter and 2-3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil for frying.
Pour all the chopped onions into the pan. There will be a lot of it, but after frying the amount will decrease by half.
Sprinkle the onion with a pinch of salt. This will draw out moisture, which will help caramelization.
Fry the onion for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. It is after this period of time that the onion will reach a brown color. This process is the secret to perfect onion soup.
When the onion turns brown, add a glass of dry or young white wine. This process is called "glazing".
Sweet wine is not suitable for this dish, because the onions are already sweet, and we need to get a balance of taste. If you don't have wine, you can use 150-200 g of apple cider vinegar.
Add 1 tbsp. l. wheat flour, mix and let simmer for another 1 minute.
Add one liter of beef broth, prepared yourself.
You should not use bouillon cubes or seasoning for this dish. If you want a lean soup, use vegetable broth.
To add flavor, add a bunch of herbs: thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. For this, 5-10 g of each plant is enough. Let the soup simmer for 20 minutes.
Read also: Ratatouille - what is it, step-by-step recipes for preparing vegetables at home with photos
As a result of cooking, the amount of soup will decrease by almost 2 times. At the very end, salt and pepper it to taste. Add 20 g of cognac or brandy to enhance the taste.
Make two pieces of toast in the toaster and rub them with garlic. You can also just use stale bread.
Pour the soup into portioned bowls and melt the bread on top.
Sprinkle generously with coarsely grated cheese on top, approximately 150-200 g per serving plate. You can choose the cheese at your discretion. French restaurants use Schabziger or Comté cheese. Don't skimp on quantity, you need a lot of it.
Place the dish in the oven preheated to maximum temperature for 1-2 minutes.
We determine the readiness of the soup by its firm, golden crust. It was thanks to her that the soup received the name “Graten”.

Decoration

Serve the soup in portioned bowls. You can use a sprig of parsley for decoration.
The soup has a very appetizing crust, which is its unique decoration.

Video recipe for making onion soup

Dear readers, watch this short video, which clearly shows the entire process of preparing onion soup.

Cooking options

After trying this onion soup, we will plunge into the world of France. If you want to experience the taste of Thailand, I offer you tom yum soup, which is the national dish of this country.
But the national dish of Ukraine is the famous soup with dumplings, prepare it in the coming days for your family.
And in Japan they make miso soup, and I’m sharing with you its simple recipe. It is easy to prepare, but it turns out very tasty thanks to the seasonings that are included in the dish.
Lentil soup is popular in Greece. Any housewife can prepare it. This is an extremely tasty and healthy dish for the whole family.

Expand your culinary horizons and share your most interesting recipes with me . I look forward to your comments on making French onion soup! I hope you liked it and your loved ones appreciated it.

Dietary onion soup for weight loss - the right recipe

Despite the fact that there is no meat in the weight loss soup, it is nutritious, aromatic and healthy. The fact is that the onion allows you to speed up the metabolism in the human body, but does not increase blood pressure. The root vegetable can increase tone, improve mood and saturate the human body with essential vitamins.

Ingredients:

1,500 ml. chicken broth;
2 large onions;
1/4 head of cabbage;
carrots – 1 pc.;
1 bell pepper;
1 bay leaf.

Rich chicken broth can easily be replaced with vegetable broth or clean water. For cooking, it is better to choose thick-bottomed dishes with high sides, for example, a saucepan or frying pan.

Cooking method:

The chicken broth prepared in advance should be strained through a fine sieve.
Chop the onion into thin half rings and the cabbage into strips.
Cut the pepper into cubes, grate the carrots on a large vegetable grater.
Place onion and cabbage in boiling broth, add bay leaf.
After 5 minutes, add the rest of the chopped vegetables to the pan.
Cook until the vegetables are fully cooked, but do not add salt.

The hot diet dish is light and promotes weight loss without hassle. Before serving a vegetarian dish, it should be generously sprinkled with finely chopped parsley or dill.

Onion soup with potatoes and chicken broth

You can prepare a unique version of onion soup in the form of puree, which comes out flavorful due to the addition of a balanced composition of spices. A delicate consistency is achieved thanks to the addition of cream to the ground mass. The dish contains a huge amount of potatoes, so it is thick and satisfying.

We will need:

leeks - 2-3 stalks;
cream – 50 ml;
potatoes - 1 large tuber;
chicken broth – 500-1000 ml;
vegetable oil olive – 3-4 tbsp. l.;
bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
sesame seeds - to taste;
spices (salt, ground black pepper) - to taste.

If you want the soup to become richer and richer in calories, the vegetable oil in its composition is replaced with butter. To get a bright, rich taste, several types of onions are added to the mixture.

Preparation:

Cut the leek stems into large rings, peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Place the vegetables in a deep saucepan with olive oil and bay leaf, pour in the broth.

Close the container with a lid and boil the mixture for about half an hour. Place the grounds in a blender bowl and pour a little broth into it, turning it into a puree.

Bring the soup to a boil, pour cream into it. Pour the hot dish into portioned bowls, pour in olive oil, pepper if necessary, sprinkle with sesame seeds and salt.

Such a dish is not only tasty, but also healthy, since it contains many useful microelements and vitamins. It is preferable to eat the hot dish fresh, serving it with golden crackers. Do not store it in the refrigerator for more than 2 days. You can pour the soup into small molds or plastic cups and then freeze.

Puree soup with pearl barley

To turn an onion dish into puree soup with barley, you will need:

onions (4 pcs.);
green onion feathers (2 bunches);
potatoes (2 pcs.);
pearl barley (100 g);
vegetable oil (4 tbsp.)
broth (1 l).

From spices:

mint (2 chips);
black pepper;
salt.

At the preparatory stage, boil the cereal and fry the diced onions until transparent.

Cooking process:

At the next stage, add finely chopped green feathers to the white onion in a frying pan, mix and remove the frying container from the heat.
Diced potatoes, onions and mint are thrown into a pan with meat broth. Boil the ingredients for 15 minutes.
At the next stage, the contents of the pan are crushed with a blender, cereal is added to it and the container is returned to the fire. After 5 min. Cover the pan with a lid and let it brew for 15-20 minutes.

It is recommended to sprinkle the soup with herbs before serving.

French onion soup with croutons and cheese

If a person has long wanted to enjoy spicy onion soup, but is worried that he will not like the consistency of the onion vegetable, then the recipe will definitely suit him. At the end of cooking, all ingredients are pureed, so the taste and aroma of the finished dish is savory, but not repulsive.

Products for cooking:

300 gr. beef or pork bones;
2 onions;
1 large carrot;
1500 ml. water;
1 bay leaf;
1 tsp. granulated sugar;
5 peas of allspice;
5 tbsp. l. flour;
200 gr. dry white wine;
50 ml. vegetable oil;
35 gr. butter;
4 cloves of garlic;
3 sprigs of thyme;
100 gr. hard cheese;
2 pieces of baguette or loaf;
salt - according to taste preferences;
ground black pepper - to taste.

You need to choose high-quality cheese so that the taste of the finished dish is rich and delicate. If the soup has cooled down, you should simply reheat it in the microwave, right with croutons and cheese.

Step-by-step preparation:

In a dry frying pan, bake carrots and onions, cut in half, over low heat. Place the washed ribs and baked vegetables, bay leaf and peppercorns into boiling water. Add salt and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours.

Chop the onion into thin half rings, and then mash them a little with your hands. Heat vegetable oil and butter in a saucepan, add crushed garlic and a mashed sprig of thyme. Fry for half a minute, stirring constantly to infuse the oil with aroma.

Add onion and granulated sugar to aromatic oil. Caramelize the onion mass for 40-60 minutes. Pour white wine into it and simmer for another 30 seconds until the alcohol evaporates. Add flour to the saucepan, pour in the prepared strained broth, add salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat under the lid.

Cut the baguette slightly diagonally with a sharp saw blade. Grease each piece with vegetable oil on both sides, place on a baking sheet and place in the oven, preheated to 200 degrees.

Grate hard cheese on a fine grater. Rub the finished croutons with garlic on both sides. Pour the soup into portioned bowls, put 2 croutons on top, sprinkle with grated cheese and place in the oven to form a golden brown cap.

A hot dish like this can warm you up on cold winter evenings. The prepared culinary masterpiece will delight you with its exquisite taste, budget and piquancy. This onion soup will appeal to cheese lovers; it will become much tastier if you add crispy croutons and do not let them get soggy.

Simple onion soup recipe without wine and cheese

Even adults and children who hate boiled onions will not refuse a portion of this delicious soup. Such a hot dish takes the main place on the table during the holiday; guests will certainly ask for more. Aromatic onion soup can be prepared simply, but it will instantly whet everyone's appetite.

List of ingredients:

800 gr. white onion;
40 ml. butter;
600 ml. water;
salt – 1 tsp;
1\2 tsp. ground black pepper;
1\2 tsp. turmeric powder.

Cooking method:

Chop the onion into small cubes and place in a saucepan with melted butter. Simmer the mixture, stirring it occasionally with a wooden spatula, for 15 minutes.

There is simply a huge amount of onion in this dish. In order for the onion cubes to caramelize perfectly, you need to heat them in a large frying pan.

Salt and pepper the onion, add turmeric and mix. Pour boiling water over and cook for about 5-7 minutes.

Properly prepared onion soup will delight you with its soft and delicate taste and spicy aroma. After the onion is subjected to heat treatment, it will no longer taste bitter. The onion smell will disappear completely, so the dish is suitable for a nutritious breakfast and will save you from alcohol intoxication.

How to make onion soup at home

There are a great many variations of this amazing first course, so you just have to find your recipe. You can prepare the broth in advance, or boil the meat the day you prepare the hot dish, although this process will take much longer. If you don’t want to bother with meat broth, you can replace it with aromatic vegetable-based filling. In this case, the finished dish will be softer and sweeter in taste.

Product list:

250 ml. vegetable broth;
500 gr. white onion;
20 ml. cognac;
2-3 sprigs of thyme;
1\2 tsp. granulated sugar;
1-2 pieces of baguette;
30 gr. hard cheese;
salt, ground black pepper - to taste.

While frying the onions, you can add a little granulated sugar to it. If you want a thick soup, add flour to the caramelized onion mass.

Preparation:

Chop the onion into thin half rings and simmer for 60 minutes.
Add thyme to the roast, pour in cognac and set it on fire.
Pour some broth into the caramelized onions.
Sprinkle with granulated sugar, pepper and salt, simmer over low heat for another 5-7 minutes.
Divide the soup into portioned dishes and drown the baguette in it.
Sprinkle with finely grated cheese and bake for 7 minutes in the oven.

You will have to add salt and pepper at the end of its preparation, otherwise the broth will evaporate and turn out to be over-salted. To improve the taste of the finished hot dish, you should put it in the oven for a couple of minutes so that the cheese shavings melt.

Green onion soup with egg

This version of a hot dish is unique because it can be prepared instantly. An amazing soup based on green onions can be cooked by a novice cook and a school student; it always turns out to be satisfying and rich. The dish turns out to be piquant thanks to the combination of eggs and herbs.

Let's prepare the ingredients:

1 chicken egg;
2 tbsp. l. butter;
2 tbsp. l. sunflower oil;
3 potato tubers;
1,000 ml. chicken broth;
400 gr. green onions;
1\2 tbsp. heavy cream;
spices (salt and ground pepper) - to taste.

It is best to purchase a white onion variety for a hot dish, since it contains a minimal amount of bitterness. From such a vegetable the broth turns out golden. In order for the green onions to remain emerald even after heat treatment, they should be salted in advance and then simmered without covering.

Preparation:

Cut the potatoes into cubes and pour hot broth over them.
Cook over low heat until done.
Finely chop the onion greens and place them in a saucepan with melted butter.
Add broth to the onion and add salt after it changes color slightly.
Pour the hot vegetable and potato mixture into a blender bowl and blend until pureed.
We send the resulting soup back to the pan, heat it and add cream.
Salt the puree mass, pepper, dilute with the remaining broth.
Before serving, sprinkle thickly with chopped boiled eggs.

The above dish is tender and has a creamy consistency. To improve the taste of the hot dish, add your favorite spices or a pinch of ground chili. It is recommended to serve the finished soup with a poached egg.

Spanish onion soup: delicious without cheese too

A little unusual recipe, but worth a try. Six onions are finely chopped, boiled in a small amount of broth, rubbed through a sieve or crushed in a blender. You will need about 1½ liters of broth, 2 tbsp. l. Fry flour until beige in 2 tbsp. l. butter, gradually pour in the remaining broth, making sure that there are no lumps. Add grated onion and 2 yolks mixed with a glass of cream to the soup. Bring the aromatic soup to a boil and immediately remove from heat. For some reason, the Spaniards do not add cheese to onion soup, but like to eat it with soft wheat bread, spread with a thick layer of country butter.

Recipe for onion soup with cream cheese and cream

An original hot dish with a delicate and spicy taste. The creamy aroma is so amazing that it instantly gathers everyone in the household at the table.

Ingredient list:

500 ml. broth;
200 ml. heavy cream;
500 gr. white onion;
100 gr. processed cheese;
2 cloves of garlic;
1 tbsp. l. flour;
3 loaves;
2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
1\2 tsp. nutmeg;
1\2 tsp. ground black pepper.

Processed cheese should not be placed whole in boiling water; it should be cut into small cubes. In this case, the product will melt faster and give the soup tenderness. To get a brighter aroma of the finished dish, you need to grind the cheese with garlic and dill.

Cooking method:

Pour vegetable oil into a deep frying pan and fry the garlic in it.
Add the quartered onion after removing the garlic cloves from the pan.
After 7 minutes, pass the soft onion quarters through a blender.
Pour the salted broth into the flour fried in a dry frying pan.
Add onion puree and cream, simmer for 6 minutes, stirring with a spatula.
Sprinkle the soup with spices and pour into pots.
Place fried loaf slices on top and sprinkle with cheese shavings.
Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about 5 minutes.

The finished dish should have the consistency of semolina porridge when the soup does not pour out of a spoon. You can add only vegetarian ingredients, even cream with processed cheese, or leave classic products.

Onion soup - simple and delicious

Ingredients: a kilo of onions, 1 liter of beef broth with vegetables, 120 ml of heavy cream, 2 large spoons of flour, a pinch of sugar, salt, freshly ground black pepper.

Creamy onion soup is a very simple dish.

The onion is peeled and very finely chopped. Next, it is laid out in a frying pan with any fat, salted and simmered until soft with occasional stirring.
Place flour, sugar, and freshly ground pepper in a frying pan.
After thorough mixing, you can transfer the fry to a pan with hot broth. At a low boil, the future soup is cooked for about half an hour.
At the very end of cooking, heavy cream is poured into the container. The mass is pureed with an immersion blender. Instead of cream, you can also use processed cheese.

Classic French onion soup with white wine

French onion soup can be eaten at any time of the year. It is especially good in winter, because it can warm a person and relax him. If you add a little white wine to it, the simple dish will turn out sweet, tender and satisfying.

List of ingredients:

5 large onions;
100 gr. butter;
600 ml. chicken broth;
150 gr. hard cheese;
100 gr. white wine;
1 tbsp. l. wheat flour;
2-3 slices of white bread;
1 bunch of parsley;
seasonings - according to taste preferences.

It is strongly recommended to caramelize onion pieces in a mixture of olive and butter to obtain a delicate taste of the finished dish. If the onion is bitter after heat treatment, you can add a little powdered sugar to it.

Cooking process:

Chop the peeled onions into thinner half rings. Heat a thick-walled iron saucepan and melt a piece of butter in it. Place the chopped onion in it and simmer, stirring occasionally with a spoon, until caramelized.

Add wheat flour to the frying mixture, fry, stirring so that the mass does not stick to the container. Pour in white wine, chicken broth, cover the pan with a lid and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with black or white pepper and roast chicken seasoning. Pour the finished dish into plates, place toast on top, fried in a dry frying pan, and sprinkle with an arbitrary amount of cheese, grated on a coarse grater. You can put it in the microwave to melt the cheese, sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Onion soup should not be cooked for several days as its flavor disappears after heating. It is better to cook the dish in a ceramic pot and serve it hot. You should decorate the plate with branches of parsley or dill, placing next to it a saucer with cheese shavings, which you can add directly to your portion.

With melted cheese

Onion soup, the classic recipe of which is not suitable for everyone, can be prepared with processed cheese instead of French Gruyère.

To prepare 4 servings of the dish you will need:

onions (4 pcs.);
chicken breast;
butter (1 tsp);
carrots (1 pc.);
processed cheese (134 g).

Spices:

salt;
sugar;
red pepper;
black pepper.

Before cooking, peel and wash vegetables and meat.

Cooking process:

A broth is prepared from the breast, carrots and 1 onion, which is salted and pepper to taste. After the liquid is ready, start frying the onions.
Melt vegetable oil in a deep frying pan, to which add sugar.
Add chopped onion to the container in any convenient way (half rings are recommended).
After a few minutes, salt and pepper the contents of the pan to taste.
At the moment when the onions acquire a caramel color and are fried, the contents of the frying pan are poured into a pan with chicken broth, from which the breast and vegetables were previously removed.
At the final stage, the processed cheese is cut into cubes and softened in a cup with poured broth. After which the contents of the bowl are added to the pan with onions.

After 5-10 minutes. the dish is ready and, poured into plates, is served to the table along with bread.

Fragrant onion soup with chicken and potatoes

This dish turns into a lifesaver when there is nothing in the refrigerator. If you know exactly how to prepare onion soup, you can put a surprisingly satisfying dish on the table in half an hour. Chicken broth should be cooked so that it is strong, but not greasy. Before boiling chicken, you should remove the skin and fat from it, although you can skip this step if you wish.

List of ingredients:

700 gr. chicken fillet;
250 gr. white onions;
200 gr. red onion;
150 gr. leeks;
300 gr. potato tubers;
200 ml. cream (20%);
salt and ground black pepper - to taste.

You need to choose a dense bulb with evenly colored scales and no green feathers on it. It is strictly forbidden to add a soft product that has black spots and an unpleasant smell to the pan.

Cooking method:

Boil the chicken fillet in a saucepan in salted water for half an hour.
Chop the peeled potatoes into cubes.
Cut all types of onions into arbitrary slices, although it is better to chop leeks into rings.
Remove the finished meat from the broth, add potatoes and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the onion to the broth and boil it for 5-6 minutes.
Cut the cooled chicken into small pieces and place it in the pan.
Add salt and pepper and let it simmer for 3 minutes.
Pour into a blender bowl and puree, add cream to the mixture and simmer for 2 minutes.

Onion soup is pleasing because it is delicious hot or chilled. There is no bitterness in it at all; you can add sour cream to it before serving to get sourness.

Fat-burning onion soup with vegetables and ginger

Another useful ingredient for losing weight is fresh ginger. Together with turmeric, it improves digestive processes, destroys pathogenic intestinal bacteria and improves the functioning of the pancreas.

The dish turns out tasty, beautiful and healthy.

We will need:

Water – 2 l.
Onion, tomato – 6 pcs.
Celery root, carrots - 100 g each.
Fresh grated ginger – 2 tbsp. l.
Bell pepper – 1 pc.
Salt, turmeric, coriander - to taste.

Preparation:

Chop all the vegetables into small pieces and boil until tender in salted water. When the carrot wheels can be easily pierced with a fork, add ginger with turmeric and coriander. Boil for a couple more minutes and turn off the heat. You can eat immediately or let it sit so that the broth is saturated with the aromas of the seasonings.

Leek and potato soup according to an old and simple French recipe

Leeks are a vegetable that is more tender than its onion counterpart. It is used in classic onion soup, but only the white part is sautéed. The hot dish can be supplemented with potatoes, white chicken, powdered milk or cream. The set of ingredients for cooking is simple, but the finished dish comes out tender and appetizing.

We will need:

1 large leek;
500 gr. potatoes;
1 white onion;
4 cucumbers;
50 gr. green onions;
2 tbsp. l. sour cream;
200 ml. cream;
1,000 ml. chicken broth;
100 gr. butter;
2 wood chips salt;
1 chip ground black pepper.

In order to increase the calorie content of onion soup, you can cook it with chicken broth. To get a rich taste, you can add 2-3 olives to a hot dish.

Preparation:

The onion stalk should be chopped into small rings, removing the green center from it.
Cut the potatoes into large cubes, and the onions into small slices.
Peel the cucumbers and chop into small cubes.
Chop the onion greens and mix them with sour cream.
Dissolve butter in a saucepan and add onions.
When it turns golden, add leek to it. After 5-7 minutes, add the potatoes to the onion, salt and pepper.
Pour chicken broth over the vegetables, let them boil and simmer for half an hour.
Cool slightly, pour in the cream and stir vigorously.
Puree the mixture using a blender, pour into plates and sprinkle with cucumber salad.

If you prepare vichyssoise strictly according to the recipe, you get a delicate, silky soup. It will be an excellent dish for fasting days and diets. In this case, you should replace the butter with vegetable oil to reduce the amount of fat.

Appetizing onion soup in pots in the oven

Ready-made light onion soup will appeal to all those who love French cooking. It can be made from a broth made in advance from chicken and onions, caramelized in butter. You can prepare a French dish in the oven by placing it in portioned ceramic pots and sprinkling with shavings of cheese.

Products for cooking:

1 kg. onions;
1 l. chicken broth;
3 tbsp. l. flour;
50 ml. quality cognac;
50 gr. hard cheese;
2 pieces of baguette;
50 gr. butter;
2-3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
1 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
spices (ground pepper, salt) - to taste.

To make the hot dish tastier and more aromatic, only fresh ingredients are added to it. All products are placed in a pan in a strictly defined sequence.

Cooking method:

Cut the onion into halves, and then chop each into thin half rings.
Place in a deep frying pan and fry in a mixture of vegetable oil and half butter.
1-2 minutes after the start of frying, sprinkle with granulated sugar, pour in cognac and mix thoroughly. Simmer covered over low heat for 10 -15 minutes.
Melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan, add flour sifted through a sieve.
Cook, stirring with a whisk, for 2-3 minutes.
Mix the onion with the toasted flour in a separate pan until smooth, add salt and pepper.
Pour in slightly salted broth and simmer for 15 minutes, covered.
Distribute the soup among ceramic pots and place 3-4 pieces of baguette on top.
Grate the cheese on a fine grater and sprinkle it on the surface of the hot dish.
Place the pots on a baking sheet.
Place in the oven for 15 minutes, preheating it to 200˚ and setting the top heat.

It is recommended to eat directly from the ceramic pot, giving it time to cool slightly. You can prepare a tender soup in a pot made from round bread so that you can eat the pot itself instead of washing it later.

Onion soup is perhaps the most controversial dish in French cuisine. Surely everyone who came across a mention of it in novels imagined a liquid broth in which a boiled onion floats alone, and wondered how THIS could be considered a delicacy. Some lovers of French literature honestly tried to make soup from one onion, simply by boiling it and even grinding it in a blender, and were even more perplexed. It turned out that cursory mentions of French onion soup in books without detailed descriptions of its taste and method of preparation for a long time aroused distrust of French cuisine among people who were poorly familiar with it.

But in fact, onion soup is a wonderful dish in all respects: tasty, aromatic, satisfying, warming and giving strength. According to Hemingway, this is a wonderful breakfast for those who have not slept. A bowl of hot onion soup instantly sobers you up after a long, stormy evening and gives you strength for a new working day. This property of onion soup was often used by porters and traders in Parisian markets, who began work after dark.

Another interesting property of French onion soup is that it is an excellent aphrodisiac. It does not have the harsh taste and smell of fresh onions, but most of its beneficial properties are retained. Onions contain vitamins A, C, B6, and many minerals: from calcium to rare selenium. Onions even contain protein. And in combination with other ingredients of French onion soup: broth, cheese, croutons, and sometimes with cream and wine, you get a complete tasty dish that inspires romantic deeds. And given the very low calorie content of onions, we can say that this dish is ideal for both ardent men and graceful women.

Like many French dishes, onion soup has an interesting history. It dates back to time immemorial, when onions were the main ingredient in soup for Roman soldiers. The low cost and excellent bactericidal properties of this vegetable made it indispensable for the great army. In addition, at that time it was believed that raw onions caused headaches, and stew was the main way to consume onions.

For centuries, onion soup was a common dish on the table of the European poor. And only in the 18th century did it become a royal delicacy. According to legend, the inventor of the modern version of onion soup was Louis XV. Finding himself on a hunt without dinner, he either prepared soup from onions, butter and champagne himself, or ordered the cook to do it. The recipe was extremely simple: fry a lot of onions in oil, pour in champagne, bring to a boil and eat (or drink). Be that as it may, many French are sure that this is the best thing that Louis XV did during his reign. True, his recipe was very far from what is called French onion soup today.

In the modern sense, French onion soup is a fairly thick puree soup made with beef broth, with croutons or croutons, baked in a pot under a cheese crust, sometimes with white wine, cognac or sherry. There is a light version of onion soup - with chicken broth, and a vegetarian version - with vegetable broth or even water.

Naturally, the onion is indistinguishable in this dish - it completely dissolves, leaving only golden brown caramelized sugar. The cooking time for onion soup varies from half an hour to 2-3 hours, and the longer, the tastier and more refined it turns out, since excess moisture has time to be removed from the onion, and the sugars contained in it approach the combustion temperature. To eliminate the possibility of burning, the onion has to be stirred frequently, but the effort is completely worth it in the result. Sometimes onion soup is ground in a blender. This may be necessary if, due to the short cooking time, the onion does not have time to dissolve. It is clear that the taste of this soup is very far from the original.

Interestingly, onion soup, a creation of the palace kitchen, is one of the few modern soups that have retained one of the most ancient features of the soup. In the Middle Ages, soup was a dry piece of bread, which was poured with vegetable or meat broth. Subsequently, the name was transferred to the entire dish, and stale bread ceased to be considered its main ingredient at all. Fried croutons in onion soup are just echoes of that very medieval bread soup for the poor.

Onion soup recipes

The oldest recipe for onion soup, not for soldiers or the poor, but for the royal table, belongs to Francois Pierre La Varenne and dates back to 1651.

Onion soup from Varen

Thinly slice the onion, fry in oil, then place in a pot of boiling water or broth and place in the oven. Once the onions have dissolved, pour the soup into a large bread crust and serve. If desired, you can add capers and a few drops of vinegar.

Napoleon III onion soup

Cut 2 onions into thin rings, blanch for 5 minutes, then fry in oil. When the onion turns golden, add a spoonful of flour and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Add water, salt, pepper, bring to a boil and leave on the far corner of the stove. Place thinly sliced dry bread and a little butter in a tureen, pour in the soup, stir and serve.

American Onion Soup (1941)

Ingredients (for 6 servings):

3 large onions, 3 tbsp. butter, 1 tsp. flour, 2 liters of broth, 2 tomatoes, 3 tbsp. grated cheese, toast, toasted with butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

Fry thinly sliced onion until golden brown, add flour if you want to thicken the soup. Pour hot broth or water over the onion, add salt and pepper and boil for 10-15 minutes. Scald the tomatoes, peel and finely chop, add to the soup. Pour the soup into a ceramic tureen, place finely chopped toast there, sprinkle with cheese and place in the oven or under the grill until a crust forms on the surface. Serve very hot.

Garbure onion soup (recipe by Auguste Escoffier)

Ingredients:

250 g onions, 25 g flour, 2 liters of white consommé (broth), baguette, Bechamel sauce, cheese - to taste.

Preparation:

Finely chop the onion and fry in oil. When half cooked, add flour. Fry until brown. Pour over the consommé and cook for another 10 minutes. Strain the soup through a sieve and thicken with concentrated Bechamel sauce. Sprinkle the baguette pieces with grated cheese, bake and place on plates. Pour the soup on top.

Julia Child's Onion Soup

Ingredients:

onions, a loaf of French homemade bread, olive or melted butter, broth, Swiss cheese and Parmesan, a little cognac.

Preparation:

Cut the bread into cubes, lightly drizzle with oil, place on a baking sheet and place in a preheated oven to brown (15-20 minutes on each side). Pour hot broth and cognac into a ceramic tureen, add finely chopped onion, place toasted toast on top and cover everything tightly with grated cheese. Sprinkle with oil and place the pan in the oven for 30 minutes at 180ºC. Turn on the grill for the last few minutes to brown the cheese crust.

Helia Delerins onion soup

Ingredients:

600 g shallots or any sweet onion, 100 g butter, 2 tbsp. flour or breadcrumbs, 200 g of white wine or beer, 1.5 liters of chicken or meat broth (boiling water is possible), 200 g of aged cheese (preferably Gruyère), some dry gray bread, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

Dry the croutons in advance. Finely chop the onion and simmer in oil over low heat until it turns brown. Add flour and wine (in Alsace they use beer and breadcrumbs). Put a little grated nutmeg, salt and pepper and pour hot broth or boiling water over it. Place a layer of croutons in a tureen that can be placed in the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese. More toast and more cheese. Pour in the onion broth, making sure that the broth does not reach the edges - the croutons will swell. Sprinkle the surface generously with cheese and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes. To brown the cheese, switch the oven to grill mode. Serve the onion soup in the same tureen into bowls at the table. Make sure everyone gets a piece of the cheese crust. It’s better to prepare this soup in individual pots so that guests break their cheese crust themselves.

Onion soup with milk

Ingredients:

0.5 kg of onion, 2 tbsp. butter, 1.5 liters of milk, 100 g of cream, 50 g of hard cheese, 3 yolks, 4 slices of white bread, Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

Fry finely chopped onion in a deep frying pan in butter until transparent. Pour in the milk and simmer over low heat for 3-5 minutes. Pass the soup through a sieve into a saucepan, add salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Combine grated cheese with yolks, add to soup, stir. Cut the bread into cubes and fry in butter. Serve the soup with cream and croutons.

Onion soup with apples

Ingredients:

1 kg of onion, 50 g of butter, 1 large apple, 2 tbsp. flour, 100 ml broth (beef, vegetable), 100 ml white wine, 50 ml cider, 1 tbsp. brandy (optional), 4-5 toasts, 100 g hard cheese, bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper to taste.

Preparation:

Melt the butter in a saucepan, fry the finely chopped onion, add a cup of water and simmer over low heat for 2 hours until the onion turns brown. Add more water if necessary. Pour a finely chopped apple and a little crushed thyme into the onion, add flour, stir and fry for a few more minutes. Pour in the wine, broth, add salt and spices and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, pour in the brandy, pour into 4-5 individual pots, place toast on top, sprinkle with grated cheese and place in the oven under the grill for 2-5 minutes.

In addition to classic French onion soup, there are many recipes for onion soup for weight loss on the Internet. It is clear that they have nothing in common with the luxurious original recipe except the name, and such soup can only be eaten if absolutely necessary.

Onion soup for weight loss

Ingredients:

6 onions, 1 head of cabbage, 2 green peppers, a bunch of celery.

Preparation:

Finely chop the vegetables, add cold water, bring to a boil and cook over low heat until tender. Add salt, herbs, curry sauce to taste.

Dishes surprisingly similar to French royal soup can be found in Asian cuisines. For example:

Pieva (Uzbek onion soup)

Ingredients:

1.5 kg of onion, 500 g of lamb, 100 g of fat tail fat, 3 tomatoes, bay leaf, red pepper, cilantro, salt - to taste.

Preparation:

Heat the lard, add finely chopped onions, meat and tomatoes, add salt and fry for 20-25 minutes. Pour in water and cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes. 5 minutes before readiness, add spices. Remove from heat, let steep and serve with unleavened flatbread.

As you can see, preparing real onion soup according to the recipes of French royal cuisine is not at all difficult. Expand your culinary horizons and don't be afraid to experiment.

Olga Borodina