Easy onion soup recipe | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken onion soup? ›

The easiest way to thicken your French onion soup is with flour. You can also use cornstarch if you don't have any flour. Remember to never add the flour or cornstarch directly to the soup – otherwise you run the risk of it clumping.

The two soups are very similar, yet quite different. Both make use of slowly cooked, caramelized onions. However, the French version always uses beef stock, baguette, and Swiss or Gruyere cheese. The English version uses any type of stock (beef, chicken, or vegetable) with any sturdy bread and Cheddar cheese.

French onion soup is the ultimate comfort food. Onions get slowly cooked until sweet and caramelized, then simmered in rich broth until they're practically falling apart. To finish it off, toasted bread is added to give it that lovable crisp-gone-soggy texture and a generous amount of Gruyère cheese is melted on top.

Cook the onions, stirring often, until they have softened, about 15 to 20 minutes.

What is the Difference Between Onion Soup and French Onion Soup? French onion soup is always made with beef stock. Other onion soups can be made with chicken, vegetable, or beef stock. Additionally, French onion soup typically contains wine or sherry, which isn't typical or necessary in other onion soups.

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.

When you are sauteing onions to build flavor as a base for your dish (soup, tomato sauce, you name it), the yellow onion is your friend. That being said, white onions are a totally acceptable substitute for yellow, especially if you're cooking them.

The Onion Soup, a traditional and warming dish

It has even become a trendy dish that tourists are eager to try to experience French gastronomy. However, onion soup is in fact not part of French people's daily meals. It was originally meant to be eaten after a family reunion in the middle of the night to cure hangovers…

Well, you'll be pleased to know that french onion soup is, in fact, a highly nutritious choice.

A few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf elevate the soup even more, but I take it a step further, adding a splash of fish sauce for complexity and depth—don't worry, it won't taste fishy—and a hit of cider vinegar to balance some of that oniony sweetness.

Why does onion soup upset my stomach? ›

Onions are hard to digest largely because they contain fructans, which are not absorbed well in the small intestine. In fact, as fructans ferment, they can cause a great deal of digestive distress in the form of bloating, gas and diarrhea.

Drain them, and they are ready to go! Boiling onions will get rid of their bitterness while still retaining a subtle onion flavour. Onions are perfectly safe to boil. Even if you undercook or overcook them, they are still safe to consume, as long as they are fresh.

If your soup has too much onion, one effective way to balance the flavor is by diluting it with broth or water. Start by removing a portion of the soup and setting it aside. In a separate pot, heat up some vegetable or chicken broth, or simply water, and gradually add it to the soup while tasting along the way.

Get the oven to 400 degrees while you prepare the onions: Cut down through the poles of each onion, down through the root end into and through the stem end. Peel each half, keeping the flesh tethered at the root end. Slice 1/4-inch thick longways, pole-to-pole, using a mandolin if you have one.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.

Fix a bland onion soup by using supermarket broth and mild white onions, tasteless oil for sauteeing, stale plain white bread instead of croutons, and mild white cheese. Start by reducing the broth. Simmering out some water will intensify the flavor of the broth. Once you get it to the right point, add some salt.

Arrowroot and cornstarch are gluten-free alternatives to thickening with flour. They'll also keep your sauce clear and cloud-free. You'll need about 1 tablespoon for every cup of liquid in the recipe. Mix the cornstarch with equal parts water to create a slurry and pour it into the pot.