Souper Duper

A French Onion Soup in the no-fuss French style

“Soup is cuisine’s kindest course. It breathes reassurance; it steams consolation.” Louis P. De Gouy

It’s deep winter here in Wyoming and the breath-sucking cold demands a hunkering-down response. In these northern climes, it is time for soup. Chicken noodle is a forerunner at this time of year to combat colds, and tomato soup is a clear favorite paired with a grilled cheese sandwich. But French Onion soup made in the French style is as comforting as it gets, with luscious Gruyere melting on a raft of floating bread. C’est magnifique!

So many French Onion Soups make it more complicated than it has to be. For a true French Onion soup, the ingredient list is minimal, and the satisfying return dwarfs the effort.

An Onion Soup dinner by the fire takes the chill off.

I found a recipe on Substack that struck a nerve. Jamie Schler’s Life’s a Feast gives a fascinating history of the soup, but what got my attention when I saw the recipe was that the method was exactly like the one I had experienced in France long ago.

We had gone for a wedding, and on one of our preliminary partying nights, we came home from an evening out, and Nathalie’s brother Herve went into the kitchen and started chopping onions. He made the soup while we hung out around the stove, eyes over the browning onions in the pot. Once the onions were soft and beginning to color, he added water and seasoned the soup with salt (ok, Sel de Guerand) and freshly ground pepper. He grabbed a baguette lying around and toasted slices, then lined them into a wide casserole. After about 20 minutes, he ladled the soup over the bread, topped it off with mounds of grated Gruyere, and then flashed it under the broiler until the cheese melted. Voila—we all scooped some out into our individual bowls and dug in, winding the long strings of Gruyere around our spoons. Slurp.

Once you ladle the soup on top of the crouton, the bread floats to the top, and the cheese doesn’t sink.

I’ve made onion soup in many ways, usually beef stock-based, but the simplicity of this method is its charm. I was pleased to find that recipe and I share an adaptation of it here, though I highly recommend looking at Schler’s history of the soup and the original recipe online.

Toasted sourdough bread made fine croutons for the Onion Soup.

Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée

Makes 4 servings

4 large white or yellow onions (about 2 pounds)

4 tablespoons butter and 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 rounded tablespoon flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A sprinkle of nutmeg (optional)

8 cups (2 quarts) water, a little more as needed or desired

4 slices stale bread or 8 slices baguette, each slice about ½ to ¾-inch thick

8 ounces grated Gruyère or Emmenthal, or a combo

You will need a large heavy pot to cook the onions, a large frying pan to make the croutons, and an ovenproof casserole, or 4 individual ovenproof soup bowls.

Peel and thinly slice the onions. Melt about 2 tablespoons butter or a blend of butter and olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion slices and cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring constantly so the onions don’t burn.

Sprinkle on the flour. Generously salt and pepper the onions, and add a tiny bit of nutmeg if you like. Cook until you see browning and a golden crust developing on the bottom of the pot.

Add the water, stir, bring up to a boil, then lower the heat and allow the soup to cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add more water if needed.

Melt the remaining butter in a large sauté pan and toast the bread until golden brown on both sides.

Preheat the broiler.

After 20 minutes, taste the onion broth and add more salt and/or pepper as needed. Ladle the onion soup evenly over the croutons. Cover the top evenly and generously with the grated cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and browned.

The ooey-gooey melted cheese is considered by many to be the best part.

A bowl of soup is the perfect winter food, best described by master chef and author Louis P. De Gouy in his 1949 classic “The Soup Book”: “There is nothing like a plate or a bowl of hot soup, its wisp of aromatic steam making the nostrils quiver with anticipation, to dispel the depressing effects of a grueling day at the office or the shop, rain or snow in the streets, or bad news in the papers.” De Gouy was a European-trained chef who studied under acclaimed French chef and culinary writer Auguste Escoffier and first learned to cook from his father, Jean De Gouy, Esquire of Cuisine to the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef.