Cooking like the French

The traditional French onion soup

There are many things we can learn with the French. We decided to start with their culinary. 

Onion soup is a French Classic. I have seen the French enjoying it even during weddings. Therefore, I quickly decided to find out the recipe and was very surprised by its simplicity. The most difficult ingredient you will need here is patience!

Furthermore: 

• Butter

• water

• Onion

• Wheat flour

• Salt and pepper to taste

And it is easy as it looks! Here is this traditional French soup I made for my husband and me at home:

I used red onions. However, I strongly advise you to go safe and use the yellow onion instead. The red one let the soup a bit too strong.

Two onions for one person. That's what you need.

The onions should reduce by 70%. This is where patience is added as an ingredient. Keep the onions in a low hit for about 1 hour and a half, stirring every 10 minutes (or less if you're patient enough). With the onions, add some salt and pepper. Please, be careful here. Just a bit of salt and pepper should be enough. Notice it is impossible not to fly away to France while smelling the caramelized onions. In about 1 hour and a half, the onions should be soft and no longer aggressive to the eyes.

The time to get the caramelized onions will depend on the onion you use and its quantity. So keep an eye open while you cook for the perfect moment the onions are already caramelized. The onions should taste slightly sweet. Once you already have your caramelized onion, add about 1 tablespoon of flour for every 4 onions together with some water (about 100ml for every 2 onions). From now on, all you have to do is to wait for 45 minutes.

I added white wine, some thyme, and 4 bay leaves to mine. However, these are entirely optional. If you wish to do as I did, add the herbs with the onions when you start cooking.

Add the wine after adding the flour and before adding the water. After adding the flour, allow it to cook for a while, and then add the white wine. Wait until the alcohol evaporates, and just then add the water.

Remember: If you add wine, you should subtract it from the quantity of water in your recipe.

Voilà! A tasteful French onion soup! Add some chives or cheese, and you're ready to eat! 

Some extra tips:

• As I said, our first onion soup was very strong. If it happens to you, do as we did. This soup can also become an excellent seasoning.

• This is an onion soup, a celebration of simplicity! It is not for everyone. If you believe it to be too simple for your taste, you can always use it as a base for other soups. Add bacon, meat, vegetables to it. Feel free to use your creativity (just do not tell this to any French Chef).

• The soup tastes better if you eat it while it is still hot. You can also add some croutons to it.

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We used yellow onions for our second soup. It was a success! We just loved to eat it the way it was! Therefore, remember: Whatever happens on the way from the stove to your table, you can never go wrong! So grab some onions, and oh là lã! France could never feel so close.

Going deeper in " Exploring Places" Find out more about France!

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