flipSleepless-Night Onion Soup
Sleepless-Night Onion Soup
Why this dish? Poet of the night and of Parisian wanderings, Baudelaire knew the small hours when hunger and spleen keep you company. Onion soup, the dish of Les Halles and night owls, warmed empty bellies cheaply — the food of the people and of impecunious artists.
Onions slowly melted until caramelized, moistened with broth and a splash of wine, gratinéed under a crust of stale bread and cheese. The late-night dish.
In the small hours, when the taverns close and hunger keeps me company, nothing consoles like a bowl of onion soup. It is served steaming near Les Halles, topped with a golden crust that slides under the spoon. I have warmed myself there more than one night of poverty, with a heavy spirit and an empty purse. Eat it without shame, my friend: misery has its splendors.
- •Onions — several, sliced (sweet-melting base)
- •Butter — a good knob (cooking)
- •Broth — to cover (liquid)
- •White wine — a dash (deglaze)
- •Stale bread — a few slices (crust)
- •Cheese for gratin (Gruyère) — a handful grated (gratin)
Sleepless-Night Onion Soup
Onions slowly melted until caramelized, moistened with broth and a splash of wine, gratinéed under a crust of stale bread and cheese. The late-night dish.
Why this dish? Poet of the night and of Parisian wanderings, Baudelaire knew the small hours when hunger and spleen keep you company. Onion soup, the dish of Les Halles and night owls, warmed empty bellies cheaply — the food of the people and of impecunious artists.
In the small hours, when the taverns close and hunger keeps me company, nothing consoles like a bowl of onion soup. It is served steaming near Les Halles, topped with a golden crust that slides under the spoon. I have warmed myself there more than one night of poverty, with a heavy spirit and an empty purse. Eat it without shame, my friend: misery has its splendors.
Ingredients (period version)
- Onions — several, sliced (sweet-melting base)
- Butter — a good knob (cooking)
- Broth — to cover (liquid)
- White wine — a dash (deglaze)
- Stale bread — a few slices (crust)
- Cheese for gratin (Gruyère) — a handful grated (gratin)
Ingredients
- Yellow onions — 600 g, sliced (sweet-melting base)
- Butter — 40 g (cooking)
- Beef or chicken broth — 1 liter (liquid)
- Dry white wine — 10 cl (deglaze)
- Stale country bread — 4 slices (crust)
- Grated Gruyère or Comté — 120 g (gratin)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Melt the butter and cook the onions over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring, until a beautiful golden-mahogany color.
- Deglaze with the white wine, let reduce for one minute.
- Add the hot broth, salt, pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls, top with stale bread, then grated cheese.
- Place under the broiler until the crust is golden and bubbling. Serve piping hot.
How it was made : In the 19th century, gratinéed onion soup was the emblematic dish of the Les Halles district: it was served to night workers, revelers, and the poor in broth houses open until dawn. Economical and nourishing, it warmed body and soul.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in a black bowl with an oversized crust overflowing the edges, dubbed "end-of-the-world gratin" — for the unabashed night owls.
Charles Baudelaire · Charactorium
