French Onion Soup Gascon Style

Posted by Darby on May 18, 2009 under Malbec, Soup, Tannat | Be the First to Comment

Four essentials of this dish are onions, fat, stock and patience. Some people recommend using sugar or flour, but I think the onion juice is sufficient. You could use chicken or vegetable stock, but beef makes it heartier.

Ingredients for 6

7 largish brown onions (one for each person and one for the pot)
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon of Duck or Goose fat
1 and a half litres of Beef stock
50 ml Cognac, Brandy or preferably Armagnac
Salt and black pepper

6 rounds of rustic french bread
1 cup of grated cheese gruyere, emmentaler or parmesan.

Method

Slice the onions thinly. Melt the fat in a heavy based stockpot. Slowly fry the sliced onions and garlic until medium brown, stirring frequently. This will take about 20 minutes but it is important to allow the onions time to render their sweet juices and to caramelise some of the sugar.

When the onions and garlic are nicely brown add the beef stock and simmer gently for half an hour. You can prepare the soup to this stage and keep it a few hours or overnight.

Make croutons by putting the cheese onto the bread and putting under a griller for a minute or two. Put a crouton in each bowl. Immediately before serving stir the cognac through the hot soup and then pour it over the croutons.

Wine Suggestion.

Serve with a full bodied red wine, perhaps a Malbec or a Tannat.

If you like Gascon style cooking you should get a copy of Kate Hill’s A Culinary Journey In Gascony: Recipes And Stories From My French Canal Boat.

Those who saw Rick Stein’s French Odyssey will remember that he used Kate’s kitchen to prepare some of the dishes. Click on the link to get more details of this lovely book.