Wild Boar Bourguignon
Wild boar slowly braised in red wine and herbs until tender, with a glossy, full-bodied sauce and no mushrooms.
RecipeSoupFrench
Classic French Onion Soup with Gratinated Cheese
Slowly caramelised onions form a rich soup finished with a splash of rum or cognac, served with fresh bread and melted cheese.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 15 min
- Total
- 1 hr 30 min
- Serves
- 4
- Per serving
- 520 kcal
In short
Slowly caramelised onions form a rich soup finished with a splash of rum or cognac, served with fresh bread and melted cheese. Ready in about 1 hr 30 min (15 min prep, 1 hr 15 min cooking), serves 4, around 520 kcal per serving.
Ingredients
For 4 servings
Method
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onions and salt and stir to coat.
Cook for 40-50 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are deeply golden and jammy. Lower the heat if they start to burn.
Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add the cognac or rum and let it bubble for a minute, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute to cook out the raw taste.
Pour in the white wine and simmer until mostly reduced, about 3 minutes.
Add the beef stock, thyme, and bay leaves. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, then season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls and top each with 2 slices of toasted baguette.
Pile on the grated Gruyère generously.
Broil for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Serve right away, carefully, as the bowls will be hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520kcal
- Protein
- 25g
- Carbohydrates
- 43g
- Fat
- 26g
- Fibre
- 4g
- Sugar
- 12g
Estimated values per serving. AI estimate, not medical advice.
Tips & variations
Patience Is Key
Don't rush the onions. Slow, steady caramelisation is where all the deep, sweet flavour comes from, so keep the heat at medium to medium-low and stir often.
Deglaze for Flavour
Those brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot are pure gold. Scrape them up with the cognac or wine so they melt into the soup.
Toast the Bread
Toasting the baguette first keeps it from turning soggy under the cheese and helps it hold its shape in the soup.
Vegetarian Version
Swap the beef stock for a rich mushroom or vegetable stock and add a splash of soy sauce for extra depth.
Rum Instead of Cognac
Use dark rum for a slightly sweeter, more molasses-like warmth, which pairs beautifully with the caramelised onions.
Questions about this recipe
How long does Classic French Onion Soup with Gratinated Cheese take?
About 1 hr 30 min in total: 15 min of prep and 1 hr 15 min of cooking.
How many people does it serve?
This recipe makes 4 servings. The interactive recipe card on our homepage scales the ingredients up or down.
How many calories does it have?
Roughly 520 kcal per serving, with about 25 g protein, 43 g carbohydrates and 26 g fat. These are AI estimates, not lab values.
From our Instagram post
Since I was a little kid, I spent my summers in the south of France. That is where I quickly fell in love with the Mediterranean kitchen. However, my love for a few other dishes, like a good entrecôte and this beautiful French onion soup, only came later in life
This French onion soup, served with fresh bread and gratinated cheese, is a comforting winter meal for cold, dark days. The onions are slowly caramelised until deeply golden, filling the kitchen with a rich, savoury sweetness. I like to finish them with a small splash of rum or cognac, both adding warmth and depth, each in their own way, without overpowering the classic flavours
Would you choose rum or cognac for your French onion soup?
Save this recipe for a cozy winter evening and share it with someone who loves French comfort food
See the original post on Instagram ↗
The ingredient list, method, nutrition and tips were written out with AI from this post.
