Starter
French onion soup, gratinéed
Cheap onions, plenty of patience — and a bubbling cheese crust that steals the show.
Nothing special about the ingredients — they're onions — but caramelising them endlessly gives a deep, sweet-savoury soup. The real bluff is the gratinéed cheese crust that comes bubbling out of the oven: pure theatre in a bowl.
Method
- Melt butter with oil and cook the onions with the sugar over low heat 25-30 min until deep golden and sweet. Patience is everything here.
- Scatter over the flour and stir 1 min. Deglaze with the wine and let it reduce.
- Add stock, thyme and bay and simmer gently 15-20 min. Season.
- Toast the baguette slices. Ladle the soup into oven-proof bowls, top with bread and cover generously with cheese.
- Gratinée under the grill (or in a hot oven) until the cheese bubbles and turns golden. Serve straight away — careful, hot!
The bluff
Slow caramelise, hot gratinée
The flavour is entirely in patiently caramelising the onions — don't rush. And the wow is the gratinée crust: use oven-proof bowls, a generous layer of cheese over toasted bread, and put them under a hot grill until bubbling. Bring them to the table still sizzling.
Plating — how to make it look expensive
- Serve in individual bowls on a small plate with a napkin — looks like a brasserie.
- Let the cheese crust spill over the rim; that rustic touch belongs.
- A small sprig of thyme on top for colour.
What you say at the table
“They're only onions, but you have to give them time.”
“Careful, the bowl is hot — that's how it should be.”
What to drink
A glass of dry white wine, or the same glass that went into the soup.
Foto via Pexels