Best ever French onion soup recipe

[Stormzy]

I remember my mum saying years ago that her best ever meal was French onion soup 20 years ago, but she's never been able to recreate it.

It's her birthday in a couple of weeks, and I'm determined to take her over a vat of the best French onion soup ever

Does anyone have a recipe?

No, but I'm eagerly awaiting any answers. My husband loves French Onion soup but when I've made it. It just tastes like onion gravy.

The secret is to cook lots of onions low and slow. I saw a good recipe once where the onions are cooked in the slow cooker first.

slowcooker-potato.cooktopcove.com/2016/11/21/how-to-make-french-onion-soup-in-a-slow-cooker/?src=fbfan_57667&mp=20170115&t=fbad&k=lgrt1dgb00036

The recipe in Delia Smith's Winter Collection is amazing! I found that book in a charity shop for £1.50 last year and have made loads of stuff from it - but the French onion soup is sooo delicious

Would you mind taking a picture and uploading it if you have a sec? I'm skint, though I will have a nosy around the charity shops if not

Nigel slater recipe

That slow cooker vid looks lovely, and I do like the idea of doing it in my slow cooker, as my hob is so shit at getting low enough to cook things slowly. Really struggle with spag Bol etc.

But it looks very runny. Is that the traditional way of serving. I've never had it before, and in my head I always had the image of it being rather thick and rich

I think a very good quality beef stock would be the most important thing? ( def not an oxo cube!) Agree with long, slow cooking for onions too.

I think a very good quality beef stock would be the most important thing? ( def not an oxo cube!) Agree with long, slow cooking for onions too.

So like Tesco finest fresh beef stock? Or actually making it myself? I have no idea how I'd do that

I am a reasonable cook with things I know, but I'd be shit on masterchef as I lack cooking general knowledge for sure!

This is Cordon Bleu so should be a good one!

lindaraxa.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/le-cordon-bleu-french-onion-soup-soupe.html

This one is the best one I've ever made (after lots of trial and error!) The key is definitely to take AGES caramelising the onions in the first place.

smittenkitchen.com/2011/04/french-onion-soup/

Yes that kind of stock should be ok, M&S would prob do a good one too, I think making your own stock would be pretty tricky! Tho I have made my own chicken stock and that's really easy!

Shameless placemark
When I was doing “food tech” (Home ec) at school mid 90s we had an ancient photocopied booklet with recipies in and I remember making the French onion soup one for my nana regularly and she loved it wish I still had the recipe so would love to see some other recipes

Just been doing some googling for you and this is Julia Child and it looks amazing! In fact I think I might well try this one myself! 😀

juliachildsrecipes.com/soup/julia-childs-french-onion-soup/

My dad makes the best ever! Prepacked garlic butter, thinly sliced onions, beef stock. He fries the onions in the butter for what smells like days. Until they are like caramel. Pours in the stock. Simmers for half an hour. Leaves on the hob to cool overnight. Reheats the following day. Puts cheese on toast in a bowl and spoons the (reheated) soup over. To die for! Time to phone the folks and invite ourselves for a visit, methinks!

Here we go - you don't need a picture because it's online

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/european/french/french-onion-soup

Forgot to say how yummy the croutons are too!

And we used veggie stock cubes because DP is veggie and it worked just fine - but I do think that beef stock would be nicer

The onions needs HOURS in either an aga or a slow cooker.

I am obsessed with cooking and have hundreds of cookery books.
I do cook as a career.
The best ' Soupe al'oignon' in my opinion is the one from Robert Carriers classic ' great dishes of the world' book.
One of the problems with many French onion soup recipes now is that they miss out an utterly ESSENTIAL ingredient which no parisien chef would ever leave out and this is what gives it the magical flavour.

Here's the recipe.
24 small or 12 medium white onions.
4oz unsalted butter.
Half teaspoon sugar.
2 1/2 pints of excellent beef stock.
2floz Congac.
Salt and pepper.
Toasted French bread
Grated Gruyere cheese.

Peel and slice the onions thinly.
Heat butter in a large pan , add sugar, add the sliced onion and cook them very very slowly stirring frequently to ensure onions do not catch. Onions need to become an even golden brown, beautifully caramelised. This can take up to two hours.
Add beef stock gradually stirring constantly until soup boils.
Then, lower the heat, put lid on pan and simmer gently for an hour.
Before serving, add Congac and simmer for ten minutes.
Add french bread topped with melted cheese.
Yum yum yum.

The Congac is an essential ingredient.

Sorry not being pedantic but did you mean cognac? Fuck it, I can’t even spell it now!!

Just checked it!

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognac

For me, French Onion Soup, though I love it, is merely a vessel for gruyére.

alwaysinmyheart
Yes, I do mean cognac! Tired typing = spelling mistakes!!

anyone else craving onion soup this morning?

I've just put the ingredients on next week's shopping, I love FOS.