There aren’t a lot of things in this world better on a cold winter day than French onion soup.
The richness from the caramelized onions. The melted then broiled cheese. The baguette croutons. It’s comfort in a bowl. Deeply satisfying. Wonderfully delicious. Amazing really, that something so good can be so simple.
French onion soup is about the onions
It seems obvious but it’s critical. Good French onion soup is real work. You need to cook the onions until they are deeply browned. Seriously. There’s no skimping that on that step.
It’s mostly about caramelization of the onions. All those sugars in the onions cooking down to a wonderful mess of delicious. But there’s a bit of Maillard reaction going on as well. Magic.
Gruyere is king
There is one cheese in my mind that is perfect for French onion soup. Gruyere. Other cheeses melt well but gruyere brings a little more depth of flavour.
It’s up to you. You can use whatever cheese you want. But try gruyere at least once. You will be surprised. Expensive but worth it.
classic french onion soup
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp butter
- 8 large yellow onions thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup port
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 quarts good chicken stock. If there was ever a reason to make your own stock this is it.
- 4 ounces 4-5 slices best quality bacon diced. Don’t skimp here.
- 2 sprigs of thyme plus one bay leaf tied together in a bouquet Garni
- 16 slices baguette
- 12 ounces gruyere cheese grated
Instructions
The soup
- Melt the butter over low heat in a 5-6 quart heavy pot.
- Add the onions, stir and cover. Cook 15-20 minutes.
- Remove lid, turn heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are well browned. This will take 30-40 minutes. It takes as long as it takes. This is how you make onion soup. Keep an eye on your onions. You don’t want them to burn.
- Once the onions are browned, turn the heat to medium high and stir in the port and balsamic vinegar. Give it a good stir to scape up any of the brown fond in the bottom of the pot.
- Add the chicken stock, bacon and bouquet garni.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
The croutons
- Pre-heat your oven to 325F. Drizzle the slices of baguette with a bit of olive oil and toast in the oven. You can rub them with a bit of garlic if you like.
To serve
- Pre-heat your broiler.
- Place your bowls on a cookie sheet. Ladle the soup into oven-proof bowls. Float two croutons on top and add a good amount of cheese. It’s OK if it melts down the side. That’s tasty too.
- Place the bowls and cookie sheet in the oven and broil until the cheese bubbles and browns.
- If you are making 8 portions and you don’t have a double pass broiler consider doing them in two batches. Don’t worry. The soup will be plenty hot.
Nutrition
For me bean dishes are all about cooking as you go. My friends are always asking me for the recipe for my bean dish. It’s never the same. It’s about what I have on hand. What I feel like. What will match the meal. Mexican pinto beans are a stable in my rotation though. Always good. Better than you’ll get at most restaurants.
This recipe has lots of room for improvisation. As written, it’s rich. Savory. Pork, cilantro and green chili are the dominant flavours. Classic Mexican. Add some pure chili powder and it moves towards red chili territory. Want it bright and assertive? Add lime juice and chipotle puree. Want it lighter? Leave out the pork. Want it vegetarian? Leave out the bacon too. No time to cook dry beans – use canned. Beans are a canvas – waiting for you to paint them with the flavours you love.
I use salt pork in this recipe. Out of the box it’s way too salty. You need to blanch it a couple times to extract most of the salt. This recipe is based on a recipe from Diana Kennedy’s The Cuisine’s of Mexico. Her recipe uses pork rind but that’s harder to come by where I live. I’ve found the salt pork, once de-salted, to work very well.
The techniques used here are similar to those in Indian cooking. While the beans cook, you make a tempering – the flavours that will ultimately season the dish. Mix the tempering with the beans and simmer briefly. Pretty much exactly the same half way across the world…
mexican pinto beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry pinto beans
- 6 oz salt pork
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 slices bacon diced
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp Mexican oregano
- 3 jalapeños seeded and diced - about 1/2 cup
- 1 cup cilantro chopped
- 15 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes - Muir Glen are good if you can get them
Instructions
The beans
- Slice the salt pork into 1/4 inch slices.
- Place pork in a small saucepan of cool water and bring to a simmer.
- Drain and repeat.
- Cut salt pork into 1/4 cubes.
- Combine onion, pork and garlic with 6 cups of water and simmer, covered, until beans are tender - about 90 minutes. Add water as needed. You want to wind up with a bit of water in the beans but not so much you need to drain them (you don’t want to lose all the flavour in the liquid). Worst case, drain the beans into a bowl and reduce the cooking liquid.
The flavouring
- Heat 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil or pork lard if you have it in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Cook the bacon until lightly browned.
- Add the cumin powder and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.
- Now add the jalapeño and cook for another minute or two.
- Mix in the cilantro, tomatoes and Mexican oregano.
- Simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Add a bit of water if the mixture starts to get dry.
- Combine the tomato mixture with the cooked beans and simmer another 15 minutes.
- Adjust salt to taste.
