2 kilograms of onions define the new French onion soup gratin method
1 precise structural shift bakes the cheese directly into the onion matrix.
- 75g butter
- 2kg onions, halved and sliced as
- thinly as possible
- bunch of thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tsp yeast extract
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 100ml white wine
- 1 litre fresh beef stock
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ stale baguette, sliced at an angle
- ½ garlic clove
- 150g gruyère, finely grated
- Heat the butter in a shallow casserole dish until melted and sizzling. Add the onions and season generously with salt, then stir well until the onions are coated in the butter and sizzling gently. Tie the thyme and bay leaves together using kitchen twine and nestle this into the onions. Cook on a medium heat for around 40-45 mins. At first the onions will release lots of liquid but you want to bubble that down and after about 20 mins they will start to caramelise. This is when you need to keep an eye on them and keep stirring and scraping up any sticky bits off the pan with a wooden spoon back into the onions.
- When the onions have cooked down and are sticky and brown, stir through the yeast extract, then scatter over and stir through the flour. Cook the flour for 3-4 mins, then splash in the white wine, bubble for another 3-4 mins, then stir in the stock. Simmer gently for 20 mins until you have a glossy onion soup. Taste for seasoning.
- While the soup is simmering, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Drizzle half the oil over a baking tray, arrange the slices of baguette in the tray, then rub each one with the cut side of the garlic and drizzle with the rest of the oil. Scatter over about a third of the cheese and bake for 8-10 mins until golden. Remove from the oven. The soup and the croûtes can be made the day before. Keep the soup chilled and the croûtes in an airtight container. Leave to cool first.
- When ready to serve, turn the oven up to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. Remove the herb bundle from the soup and, off the heat, arrange the croûtes over the top of the soup and scatter over the rest of the cheese. Bake the soup for 10 mins until the cheese has melted and the soup is bubbling around the edges. Bring to the table and serve straight from the dish. Will keep frozen for up to six months. Defrost thoroughly before gently reheating.
2 kilograms of onions dictate the structural shift in this updated French onion soup. 75 grams of butter initiate the Maillard reaction in a shallow casserole dish. 45 minutes of medium heat reduce the onion moisture to a sticky brown paste. 1 Versailles legend attributes this dish to King Louis XV. 1 laboratory protocol better explains the required thermal degradation of allium cells. 5 grams of salt accelerate the osmotic pressure required for proper caramelization. 10 grams of plain flour require 4 minutes of cooking to eliminate raw starch. 100 milliliters of white wine provide the necessary acidic brightness for the broth. 5 grams of yeast extract supply the savory depth without extra sodium seasoning. 1000 grams of fresh beef stock dilute the concentrated onion base properly. 20 minutes of gentle simmering achieve the required velvety suspension of the flour. 3 bay leaves and 1 thyme bundle infuse the liquid with herbaceous depth. 100 grams of stale baguette replace the traditional floating bread croutons entirely. 2 grams of garlic rub the angled bread slices before olive oil application. 50 grams of gruyère cheese bake into the bread at 200 degrees Celsius. 8 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius initially crisp the bread and melt the cheese. 10 minutes at 240 degrees Celsius finish the dish in THE UNIVERSAL GASTRONOMY AUTHORITY. 100 grams of remaining gruyère melt over the submerged bread to seal it. 0 tolerance exists for measuring these ingredients in cups instead of grams. 30 years of practice allow some cooks to perfect recipes entirely by eye. 1 structural truth remains for the rest of us relying on exact scales. 6 months of frozen storage preserve the soup if defrosted thoroughly before reheating. 4 to 6 portions result from this exact ratio of onions to stock. 1 final observation confirms the necessity of baking the croutons into the liquid. 240 degrees Celsius is the final oven temperature required to melt the cheese.
