France is a country that is famous for multiple things across the globe. From tourism to trade practices and of course, the mesmerizing nature’s beauty in the heart of the capital city, Paris. Eiffel might be the first thing that crosses your mind when it comes to France, but to peek into something more, France is also famous for their signature french onion soup starter.
The French onion soup is a perfect blend of minced onions, beef stock, toasted bread, and grated and grilled Comté cheese. This heartwarming dish has been winning over hearts over the years and years.
The roots of this dish come back 8000 years ago from the broths of ancient Rome and then were adapted in the French kitchen which was later combined and created into this heavenly dish.
Let’s discuss the History Of French Onion Soup briefly.
French Onion Soup History
Most of the famous great kitchen inventions happened either accidentally or were a result of a culinary fluke. The same story does the French soup have too.
People believe that King Louis XV and his extended family were back from deer hunting just to find that the cupboard at their lodge was empty. It was then when he came up with the idea to put on the ingredients as to what he had which was, some minced onions, butter, champagne and of course the meat pieces. And to end it on a good note, the dish turned out one of the super hits of the French kitchens.
People also believe that this great soup has another origin as well, Stanislas Leszczynski, duke of Lorraine has tasted onion soup at an inn in the Champagne region whose smell had impressed him so much that it forced him to take a kitchen tour and see the chef make it. He then managed to copy down the recipe.
However, with frame and base idea of the dish, it made its way into restaurants surrounding Les Halles—the Poule au Pot, Chez Baratte, the Pied de Cochon. José Dufour, the manager of the Pied de Cochon had said that initially, this dish was adopted by the poor with beef jus, broth, onions, and bread but later, restaurants had altered it into a little heavy expensive version of cuisine with lots of grated cheese in it.
Today, the French Soup is known worldwide for its extremely rich and well-balanced ingredients and taste.
The core ingredients of the dish
As an honest fact, you’ll always find the taste and recipe differ from restaurant to restaurant when it comes to the French soup, but the core ingredients remain the same for the traditional French onion soup. Onions, beef, beef stock, butter, flour, salt, pepper, Gruyere cheese, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, brandy, and French bread are the basic ingredients used in the soup. However, there are also different versions of this soup which has a completely vegetarian recipe for those who avoid meat. On an approximate note, the soup has nearly 200 calories in it.
Top hotels in Paris to enjoy French Onion Soup
The capital of France, Paris, has multiple options to stop by and dine in the amazing French onion soup, but some restaurants top up the list with the best of the best taste.
- La Jacobine
- Les Philosophes
- Au Père Louis
- Flottes
- Le Saint-Germain
A Basic Recipe of French Onion Soup to make it yourself:
Here’s a quick and easy French Onion Soup recipe to try it yourself and know what a French onion soup looks like.
This recipe is adopted via ( allrecipes.com ).
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups sliced onions
- 4 (10.5 ounces) can beef broth
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry (optional)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 slices French bread
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 2 slices Swiss cheese, diced
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
How to make French Onion Soup
- Melt butter with olive oil in an 8-quart stockpot on medium heat. Add onions and continually stir until tender and translucent. Do not brown the onions.
- Add beef broth, sherry, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven broiler.
- Ladle soup into oven-safe serving bowls and place one slice of bread on top of each (bread may be broken into pieces if you prefer). Layer each slice of bread with a slice of provolone, 1/2 slice diced Swiss and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Place bowls on a cookie sheet and broil in the preheated oven until cheese bubbles and browns slightly.
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Do try it out and let us know what you think about the famous onion soup. We hope you love it as much as we do.
