Soupe à L'Oignon Gratinée

Or French Onion Soup Gratinée.

I think this soup is one of the most popular soups (or popular French food) in the world. And as Julia Child stated in her TV Show, The French Chef, "... the soup that made the onion famous." It is made primarily with beef stock and caramelized onions and served with croutes and Swiss cheese.

I really love serving my family and friends this classic French Onion Soup because of the sweet aroma from caramelized onion and the creaminess and cheesiness from Swiss cheese. I love how this soup is served because all the texture and flavours that plays in your palette go so great together: from the sweet onions, to the crunchy croutes, to the creamy and cheesy cheese on top. Oh là là! All the hours of preparing (and crying over the onions) and cooking this soup is really worth it after you take those first sip. hmmm

This recipe is taken from Julia Child's show "The French Chef" (and I think this is also in her book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"). Oh here's a trivia: Did you know that Julia Child's final meal is this soup? [http://nrn.com/article/julia-child-facts-and-trivia]

To make your own Soupe à L'Oignon Gratinée, you need "an awful a lot of onions" (Child, 1963):


Prep and cooking time: ~2 hrs
serves 6-8

1 kg of yellow onions
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp flour
6 cups beef stock (2 cubes beef broth + 6 cups water)
1 cup wine (dry red or white)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 raw onion
2-3 tbsp cognac
salt and pepper
100 g Gruyère/Swiss Cheese/Emmentaler/Jarlsberg/Appenzell/Raclette (or any good melter. Please don't use Quickmelt brand)
bread for croutes
olive oil



1. Place heavy bottom stock pot over medium-low heat


2. Add 1 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp butter


3. Add sliced onion and stir until they are evenly coated with oil


4. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, until they are tender and translucent


5. To brown or caramelize the onion, turn the heat to medium-high


6. Add sugar, salt and continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently until the onions have browned and reduced significantly


7. Once caramelized, reduce heat to medium-low and add 3tbsp flour


8. Brown the flour for 2-3 minutes (If the flour doesn’t form a thick paste, add butter)


9. Stir 1 cup of warm beef stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the cooked bits


10. Add the rest of the stock, wine, sage and bay leaf


11. Simmer for 30 minutes


12. Check soup for seasoning


13. Remove bay leaf


14. Transfer to casserole dish


15. Add cognac and grate ½ raw onion


16. Add a few ounces of cheese directly to soup and stir


17. Place the bread/croutes on top of the soup. (To make croutes, cut a french baguette 1 inch thick, or any bread if you don't have baguette, and coat it with olive oil. toast/bake it for about 5-8 minutes until crispy)


18. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese in a thick layer over the bread. (can be served as it is)


19. Drizzle with little oil


20. Place in a 170ºC (350ºF) for about 30 minutes or until the cheese has brown


21. Serve hot.


Bon appétit!