How good can Onion Soup really to be? Well, actually pretty amazing. Julia Child’s French onion soup is not real and is one of our favorite winter warmers. Thick and salty onion soup, topped with a layer of crispy garlic bread and cheese that becomes soft and slightly sweet while cooking? Sounds like heaven. Here’s how to make our homemade French onion soup recipe Julia Child.
How to Make Julia Child’s French Onion Soup
Okay, proper disclosure. Given that soup is an easy dish to prepare, there are quite a few steps to this recipe. However, let us assure you that the end result is Well worth it!
We start frying piles of onions until golden, soft and sweet. Do not worry if the onion volume looks really large. They shrink significantly as soon as they start to boil. You really want to bring out the sweetness of this onion, so for this reason, we add a little butter along with the sugar. It helps them caramelize beautifully.
Once this is done, we will add some more butter and a little flour to create a kind of thick raw paste. This is essential because it will ensure that your soup will thicken properly later on. We then combine this delicious blend with lots of beef stock and a bit of wine before letting it be thick and bubbly.
While the soup is bubbling, we prepare the croutons, drizzle olive oil on the bread, and bake until golden. Next, we arrange the bread in one layer over our soup before adding layers of cheese on it and then putting it in the oven to cook, melt and mix.
If you want to make it French properly, be sure to add just a splash of cognac, too, for a slightly deeper flavor.
We use Parmesan and Swiss cheese in our recipe, but you can try other types of cheeses for different flavors (see our hints and tips below).
Tips and tricks
- The salt added at the beginning of the recipe is actually a crucial step. When onions are added, it causes them to release moisture earlier, speeding up the cooking process
- If you do not have a beef axis, both a vegetable axis and a chicken axis will work equally well.
- If you do not have cognac, do not worry too much, it is an optional addition. We used to use a little Worcestershire sauce as an alternative, and it was no less delicious.
- Ideally, you will need to cook this recipe in a Dutch oven. However, any heavy casserole dish can work well. Start by cooking the liquid element of the stew in the pot and then transfer it to the stew before baking.
- French bread is authentic, but you can use almost any bread you have on hand. It also does not matter if the bread is a little stale. It just causes crispier croutons.
- Although I recommend a white onion for this recipe, but any onion will do the job. Red onion adds a slightly milder and sweeter flavor. You may want to toss in some garlic cloves if you want to make it really salty.
- You can experiment with a few different types of cheese. This does not have to be Swiss cheese (although the authentic French onion soup recipe Julia Child recommends it). We tried cheddar, emmental and even spicy mexican, all with good results.
- If your soup is too thick, do not add more flour. Instead, continue to cook it for a few more minutes until it reaches the desired thickness. And remember, croutons are going to absorb a lot of liquid, so do not worry if your soup is a little ‘thin’.
See also: Lipton Meatball Onion Soup
Summary
While there are some ingredients and quite a few steps, but our authentic French onion soup recipe Julia Child is super easy (pun) if you are organized and plan your time. The croutons and cheese make it a real filling, and you can even freeze dishes for a later date. Did you give it a try? Tell us in the comments.
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