flipLa soupe à l'oignon du comptoir
La soupe à l'oignon du comptoir
Why this dish? We know that Verlaine "sometimes had soup at a wine merchant's": onion soup gratinée, hot and filling for a few pennies, was the comfort of the broke night owl and the Parisian market halls.
Onions slowly caramelized until brown, moistened with broth, poured over stale bread and gratinéed with cheese. A one-dish meal, dense in flavor, that sticks to the ribs on a winter evening.
When the pocket is empty and the night cold, you push open the wine merchant's door and ask for soup. The onions have melted for hours until they take on the color of old copper; you drown them in broth, pour them over yesterday's hard bread, and the cheese forms a golden, stringy crust on top. It's a small thing, you see, but it warms a man better than a sermon, and I've known dawns saved by that single steaming bowl.
- •Onions — a good handful per bowl (sweet-umami base)
- •Lard or butter — a lump (fat for melting onions)
- •Broth (bones, scraps) — enough to cover (moistening)
- •Stale bread — a few slices (base)
- •Cheese for grating (Gruyère, old cheese) — to taste (gratin)
La soupe à l'oignon du comptoir
Onions slowly caramelized until brown, moistened with broth, poured over stale bread and gratinéed with cheese. A one-dish meal, dense in flavor, that sticks to the ribs on a winter evening.
Why this dish? We know that Verlaine "sometimes had soup at a wine merchant's": onion soup gratinée, hot and filling for a few pennies, was the comfort of the broke night owl and the Parisian market halls.
When the pocket is empty and the night cold, you push open the wine merchant's door and ask for soup. The onions have melted for hours until they take on the color of old copper; you drown them in broth, pour them over yesterday's hard bread, and the cheese forms a golden, stringy crust on top. It's a small thing, you see, but it warms a man better than a sermon, and I've known dawns saved by that single steaming bowl.
Ingredients (period version)
- Onions — a good handful per bowl (sweet-umami base)
- Lard or butter — a lump (fat for melting onions)
- Broth (bones, scraps) — enough to cover (moistening)
- Stale bread — a few slices (base)
- Cheese for grating (Gruyère, old cheese) — to taste (gratin)
Ingredients
- Yellow onions — 500 g (4-5) (base)
- Butter — 40 g (to cook onions)
- Beef or chicken broth — 1 liter (moistening)
- Stale country bread — 4 slices (base)
- Grated Gruyère or Comté — 120 g (gratin)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Finely slice the onions.
- Cook them gently in butter for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring, until a beautiful brown and sweet color.
- Add the hot broth, salt, pepper, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Place the stale bread in the bottom of ovenproof bowls, pour the soup over it.
- Cover with grated cheese and broil until the crust is golden and bubbling.
How it was made : Onion soup gratinée was the fuel of night owls and the market porters at dawn. At the wine merchant (ancestor of the bistro), this single, cheap dish was served at all hours and served as a complete meal for the poor.
The contemporary twist : Served in a mini cast-iron cocotte with a thread of reduced port: the Halles soup elevated for today's table.
Paul Verlaine · Charactorium
