Vincent Price Soupe à L’oignon - Onion Soup
Mr. Price’s “Treasury of Great Recipes” is a wonderful cookbook that I’m privileged to have on my shelf! The style of recipe format is rather different from what we’re used to these days, so I’m translating for a more modern audience. Here you have a recipe adapted from one the collection, a delicious onion soup! From the market in Les Halles in Paris, circa 1965.
3 tablespoons bacon drippings (you can substitute butter, if you have no drippings)
4 large onions, chopped fine
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 sprig parsley
1 pinch thyme
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon cognac
6 slices toasted French bread
olive oil
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided, for garnish (or more, to taste or according to recipe see below)
(Also needed: 6 oven-proof soup bowls.).
Over medium temperature, heat a deep skillet with the bacon drippings or butter.
Add the chopped onions and sauté until just soft.
Add the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic and cook until it is golden brown (careful not to burn).
Add the parsley sprig, thyme, chicken stock, wine, and simmer for 45 minutes, then remove from heat and add the Cognac.
To serve: divide the servings between the six oven-proof bowls, placing the bowls on a baking sheet, with 1 slice of toasted French bread in each bowl.
To make it Soupe à L’Oignon Gratinée: preheat your oven’s broiler setting; you’re going to make three layers of thinly sliced bread and Parmesan cheese in the bowl, pouring soup into the bowls, topping each layer with Parmesan and a little melted butter, then placing the bowls on a baking sheet under the broiler until the cheese melts and forms a golden brown crust.
Source: A Treasury of Recipes by Vincent Price