Onion Soup Les Halles
Les Halles cookbook, page 45
Here is a tip for making French Onion Soup from scratch- and from scratch I mean even the stock from scratch. Don’t start at 5pm. You won’t eat until 10pm. You may be saying, “but Mary, duh. Who in their right mind would start a soup so late in the evening?” The problem here is that what on paper looks so straightforward, so basic, onions, caramelized, then stewed, covered in cheese and fired off in the oven, is not. Here is a dish where it is not your creativity, your twist on the classic is what makes it, but rather to quote Michael Ruhlman- who is actually quoting his uncle, in the book, The Making of a Chef, your skills, “as an artist are placed in the service of,” the onions.
When making French onion soup you must put your skills as an artist in the service of the onions. This is what takes five hours on a weeknight. The upside being I got a couple new kitchen toys for this one, two super cute le creuset mini casseroles, and a chef’s torch.
As both a cheap ass and a lover of French Onion soup, I was thrilled when this recipe was called upon. For some reason (I’m betting on the cheap part), any dinner that ends up costing more than what a favorite restaurant might charge, better taste as good or better. Often, this is not the case; such are the perils of honing any craft, cooking perhaps, especially. So, onions? Cheese? Bread? Some herbs and a little wine? What could end up costing? Well, the casseroles-ettes and the torch were something I hadn’t been counting on and quickly added up to a hefty mid week dinner tally.
Of the torch, Kevin remarked, “I think we are the only people who cook with a toaster oven and a hot plate, and have a torch.” I might add that his mood improved once he had the opportunity to play with fire.
Men.
After 5 hours of onion carmelization and stock making, the house smelled like our favorite bistro back in Seoul and I was allotted the task of filling the torch. This might be fun. As you can see in the picture, in the absence of a broiler in our “kitchen,” we would need something for epitome of French Onion soup, the cheese melting/browning. Enter the torch. Oh, beautiful torch, I should of never doubted your brilliance, you were worth the extortionate $50, charged by Sur La Wallet.
Recipe Ease: 5-10 Monekys could make this, but it takes a chef to make it right.
Time: 7 An all day cooker
Make again: 10.
Hmmm, I may have to head to Les Halles this weekend and get some of their onion soup for lunch. You guys should come with.
hmmm…i though k-dawg had the soup at les halles, but perhaps not due to my lateness. their beefstock is divine! i agree with the previous poster and think you need to come eat steak frites and french onion soup!