French onion soup is a recipe that pretty much does what it says on the tin: it’s French, it’s onion, and it’s soup.
What isn’t in the name though is the fact that it will normally be based on meat stock, and generally served with gratinated croutons and cheese, along with a piece of bread.
Onion soups have been around a long time – since the Roman times in fact. They were traditionally considered to be foods for poorer classes, seeing as onions were easy to grow and very easy to come across.
This version of the soup originates in Paris, France, and dates back to the 18th century. It is often finished in the grill in a ramekin, though this isn’t a requirement.
In fact, there are lots of different ways that you can make French onion soup and lots of ingredients that will work excellently in this broth. With that in mind then, read on and we’ll take a look at fourteen easy ways to make delicious French onion soup.
1 The Basics
The basic French onion soup is an extremely easy recipe that you can enjoy quickly in order to get a big boost of health.
The ingredients are simple: butter, onions, garlic cloves, white wine, Madeira, beef stock, pepper, and chopped parsley for garnish.
To make it, just melt the butter in a medium ovenproof pan, add the onions and the garlic, and fry on medium heat. Once the onions are rich and caramelized, then you can add the white wine, the Madeira, and the beef stock. Bring it all to the boil, and add a little water if you need to bulk it up. Then just add any extra seasoning or garnishes that you want in order to dish it up quickly.
This is going to serve as the basis for the rest of our recipes. Whatever else we recommend, you can simply try swapping out the items listed here and using the same method, or adding in the extra items that we recommend.
As for quantities, follow this rough guide:
- 50g butter
- 1kg onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 100ml white wine
- 2tbsp Madeira
- 1ltr beef stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Garnish of parsley