When your husband arrives at home with a huge bag of onions because they were on sale and nearly the same price as the three pound bag you asked for, what do you do? French onion soup, for starters... or in this case the main course!
French onion soup has been a favorite in America since the 1960's when Julia Child drove the interest in French cuisine. She made the soup in her initial series on public TV, The French Chef, and since then Americans have loved this dish. However, way back in 1803 Susannah Carter published the first known American recipe for onion soup in The Frugal Housewife.
Onion soup was also enjoyed by ancient Romans and Greeks, although the French onion soup (with the bread and cheese topping) we think of today originated in France in the 18th century. It is this version that Julia made so popular here in the USA and that I share with you today. I'm using the recipe that she published in Julia Child, The Way To Cook, which if you do not already have on your shelf, I highly recommend. It is the one cookbook I come back to time and again. She not only provides recipes in this wonderful book, but important master recipes and manufacturing notes that are extremely helpful in preparing individual recipes as well as improving your basic cooking techniques. This recipe does not result with stringy, stretchy cheese you find in many restaurants, but one with much more flavor as it uses Gruyère, the famous Swiss cheese, and also dry French vermooth and Cognac or brandy (as opposed to wine) in the broth.
However, the single most important ingredient in a good French Onion soup is the beef broth. So I suggest you take the time (about six hours of cooking time) to make this ahead and use it in the recipe. Making stock is not difficult and well worth the time. I start with raw beef bones such as the shank, neck and knuckle plus any raw scraps I have collected in the freezer. If I have little on hand, I purchase an oxtail or two. If you are making a large quantity (which I suggest to make it worth your effort) do the following.
Preheat the oven to 450F and arrange the bones and about 1/2 cup each of roughly chopped carrots, onion and celery in a roasting pan. If the meat is not fatty, toss lightly with oil. If it is fatty, do not oil but rather stir several times while cooking to coat the meat and vegetables. Roast (uncovered) for 30-40 minutes. Remove solids from the pan and discard the fat, placing the solids in a stock pot. Place the roasting pan on the stove top and deglaze with two cups of water, scraping any solids from the pan bottoms/sides as the water boils. Pour the liquid over the solids in the stock pot and add an additional carrot, onion and celery rib to the pot. You may also add a few garlic cloves and plum tomato if you prefer. An herb bouquet of your favorite seasonings should also be added to the pot. Add additional water to cover the ingredients by about two inches. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove; skim off and discard gray scum that will collect on the surface for several minutes. Add 1-2 teaspoons of salt. Cover and simmer, skimming off fat and scum occasionally, about 4-5 hours. Strain the stock through a colander into a bowl, pressing juices out of the ingredients. Degrease the stock and season lightly to taste. Strain again, this time through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean pan or container for storage.
Plan to start cooking about four hours ahead of serving, or prepare the soup in advance and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready for the gratinée (bread and cheese topping.) If you want to speed up the process, you can consider this pressure cooker version of Julia's recipe. This recipe makes about six dinner servings.
1 Tbs olive oil
8 cups thinly sliced onions ( about 2 1/2 pounds)
1/2 tsp each salt and sugar (to help brown the onions)
2 Tbs flour
2 1/2 quarts homemade beef stock, 2 cups of which should be hot
4 to 5 Tbs Cognac, Armagnac, or other good brandy
1 cup dry white French vermouth
A food processor with slicing blade or a hand slicer is useful for the onions; a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan with cover for onion cooking and simmering.
When onion soup is the main course, bake it in the oven with cheese and toasted French bread, and bring it all crusty and bubbling to the table. A big salad, more bread and cheese, and fruit could finish the meal, accompanied by a bottle or two of fruity white wine, like sauvignon blanc or even gewürztraminer.
MANUFACTURING NOTE: Be sure you have a homemade type of bread with a body here because flimsy loaves will disintegrate into a slimy mass.
8-12 slices of toasted French bread
1 1/2 cups of Swiss Gruyere (half grated, half very thinly sliced) with a little grated Parmesan cheese
Comments
Post a Comment