It's easy to say onion soup. But if you take a closer look at the variations for this recipe based on such an unmistakable flavored ingredient, rich in beneficial properties, there are really many ways to make it – from variations on ingredients to the cooking method!
Let's check the recipes out in detail and discover how to make onion soup that will satisfy even the most demanding palates.
Onion soup: the classic recipe
There are many varieties of this healthy vegetable, great for your heart and bones. Not all of them, of course, are suitable for making a bowl of warm onion soup, but many of them are more than great for this recipe: from red onions to Cannara onions from Italy; from white onions to the Certaldo onion cultivated in Tuscany with a round shape and purple hue.
For the classic recipe, just chop and brown a rib of celery and a carrot. Add the finely chopped onions and let the flavors combine, perhaps adding a little wine. After the wine has evaporated, add half a liter of broth and season with salt. Continue to cook over very low heat for about an hour. Serve with ground pepper, a little olive oil, and classic bread croutons.
Not just Parmigiano Reggiano
Cheese is certainly one of the ingredients that goes best with onion soup, adding more flavor at the end of the preparation. Grated Parmigiano Reggiano is without a shadow of a doubt the most suitable cheese for this recipe and the first cheese that everyone thinks of when talking about onion soup. But it is not the only possibility! Gruyére cheese, for example, with its sweet flavor and nutty aftertaste, accompanies the dish without upsetting the taste of the onions and it is certainly worth trying. For those of us that love strong flavors, on the other hand, pecorino cheese is recommended.
French onion soup
The variants of this dish most suitable to the cold months of the year also concern the cooking method and how you prepare it. The best-known recipe, in this case, is for French onion soup, also known as soup à l'oignon.
To prepare the classic French onion soup, first melt 50 grams of butter in a saucepan, finely chop two kg of white or copper onions and then add them to the butter, simmering for about twenty minutes. Once the onions become very soft, add 30 grams of flour and mix everything well to avoid lumps. Blend with a little white wine, add a liter of broth, season with pepper and salt and let the soup cook for about ten minutes. Finally, place the sliced bread covered with grated cheese in a large baking container and pour the soup over it. Sprinkle with more cheese before baking for less than 10 minutes at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Onion soup with potatoes
For this version of onion soup, roughly cut one kg of potatoes and slice two kg medium onions (red is best). After heating 70 grams of butter, brown the onions for about five minutes and then add the potatoes and a clove of garlic. Pour in a liter of chicken broth and bring to the boil. Once the potatoes become very tender, reduce everything to a sort of purée. Let cool and serve with toasted bread.
Tuscan onion soup
Beans and carrots go well with onions. Another famous style of onion soup is Tuscan-style onion soup, better known as carabaccia. This dish has been in recipe books since the Renaissance, first mentioned in 1557 by Cristoforo Messisbugo from Ferrara in his "Libro Novo," in which he teaches readers how to make all sorts of recipes. The soup entered into Florentine tradition thanks to Catherine de' Medici, wife to the King of France Henry II of Orleans.
To prepare carabaccia, also considered the ancestor of the Parisian soupe à l'oignon, first heat a little oil in a pan. Add a kg of sliced onions and cook everything over low heat for about 15 minutes. Pour a liter of vegetable stock into the saucepan with two cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of sugar. Add salt and pepper. After cooking for twenty minutes, place the bread with cheese (gruyère or pecorino) in a baking pan. Pour the soup on top and let cook for a maximum of ten minutes and finally serve with more cheese and croutons. Another mouth-watering onion soup recipe!