Description
Rustic French onion and mushroom soup delights palates with its rich, comforting flavors. Hearty ingredients blend seamlessly, creating a luxurious culinary experience you’ll savor down to the last spoonful.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 tbsps butter
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 500 g (1 lb) mushrooms (cremini, button, or a mix), sliced
- 4 cups (1 liter) beef or vegetable broth
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (100 g) shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
- ½ cup (50 g) grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme (or ½ tsp dried thyme)
- 1 tsp sugar
- Baguette slices
- 1 tbsp flour (optional)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare Base: Melt butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat, creating a foundation for caramelizing onions.
- Caramelize Onions: Add sliced onions with sugar and salt, stirring consistently to develop a deep golden-brown color and rich, jammy texture over 25-30 minutes.
- Enhance Aromatics: Introduce minced garlic and fresh thyme, stirring to release their fragrant essence into the developing base.
- Develop Flavor: Deglaze pot with white wine, scraping up concentrated flavor fragments from the bottom of the pan.
- Incorporate Mushrooms: Add sliced mushrooms, allowing them to sauté and release their natural moisture, blending with the caramelized onion foundation.
- Build Soup Body: Pour in beef stock and heavy cream, creating a velvety liquid that combines all ingredients into a harmonious mixture.
- Simmer and Blend: Gently cook for 15-20 minutes, allowing flavors to meld and concentrate, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Final Seasoning: Adjust taste with black pepper and salt, ensuring a perfectly balanced flavor profile.
- Serve Elegantly: Ladle soup into warm bowls, optionally topping with crusty bread and melted Gruyère cheese for a classic French finish.
Notes
- Select Sweet Onion Varieties: Choose Vidalia or Walla Walla onions for naturally sweeter, more mellow flavor profile that caramelizes beautifully.
- Control Caramelization Temperature: Maintain low-medium heat to prevent burning, allowing slow sugar development and rich golden-brown color without bitter undertones.
- Layer Mushroom Varieties: Combine different mushrooms like cremini, shiitake, and porcini to enhance depth and complexity of earthy umami notes.
- Adjust Cream Consistency: Use full-fat cream for richer texture, or substitute with half-and-half for lighter version; alternatively, blend in vegetable stock for dairy-free adaptation.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Appetizer
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 36 g
- Saturated Fat: 20 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg