Work-Study Onion Soup
Onions melted until golden, moistened with broth, poured over slices of stale bread and gratinéed with cheese: a poor man's dish that became a scholar's comfort.
Onions melted until golden, moistened with broth, poured over slices of stale bread and gratinéed with cheese: a poor man's dish that became a scholar's comfort.
You see, I confess to forgetting dinner hour as soon as an equation grips me; so my housekeeper prepared this onion soup that can be reheated without ceremony. The onions are left to turn golden very gently, without rushing—patience does more than fire—then one pours it over hard bread and a little grated cheese. I assure you that a tired mind finds more vigor there than in many apothecary remedies.
- •Onions — a good pile (base)
- •Butter or lard — a knob (fat)
- •Stale bread — a few slices (thickener)
- •Pot-au-feu broth — a large pot (liquid)
- •Cheese for gratin (Gruyère/Comté) — a handful grated (gratin)
Work-Study Onion Soup
Onions melted until golden, moistened with broth, poured over slices of stale bread and gratinéed with cheese: a poor man's dish that became a scholar's comfort.
Why this dish? Ampère, reputed to forget to eat when a problem absorbed him, often contented himself with a soup gulped down between two classes. Onion soup, economical and restorative, was the comfort of Parisian intellectuals burning the midnight oil.
You see, I confess to forgetting dinner hour as soon as an equation grips me; so my housekeeper prepared this onion soup that can be reheated without ceremony. The onions are left to turn golden very gently, without rushing—patience does more than fire—then one pours it over hard bread and a little grated cheese. I assure you that a tired mind finds more vigor there than in many apothecary remedies.
Ingredients (period version)
- Onions — a good pile (base)
- Butter or lard — a knob (fat)
- Stale bread — a few slices (thickener)
- Pot-au-feu broth — a large pot (liquid)
- Cheese for gratin (Gruyère/Comté) — a handful grated (gratin)
Ingredients
- Yellow onions — 500 g, sliced (base)
- Butter — 40 g (fat)
- Broth (beef or chicken) — 1 L (liquid)
- Stale country bread — 4 slices (thickener)
- Grated Comté or Gruyère — 120 g (gratin)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Finely slice the onions and cook them in butter over low heat for 25–30 minutes, until amber blond, without burning.
- Add the hot broth, salt, and pepper; let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Place the bread in ovenproof bowls and pour the soup over it.
- Cover with grated cheese and broil until golden and bubbling.
How it was made : In the 19th century, onion soup was the dish of night workers and the Parisian Halles: nothing was wasted, as stale bread and cheap onions sufficed to feed a man. It was gratinéed at the edge of the hearth.
The contemporary twist : Served in individual small cocottes, deglazed with a splash of white wine and topped with a dome of souffléed Comté.
André-Marie Ampère · Charactorium
