Winter
Main
Brown Butter Pasta
with crispy sage & toasted walnuts
25 min·Easy·Serves 2
4.8
Vegetarian
WinterStarter
French Onion Gratin
the slow-caramelised version
This is the soup that converted me to patience in cooking. Three pounds of onions, cooked very slowly for nearly an hour until they collapse into a sweet, sticky, deeply savoury mass. No shortcuts. Topped with a raft of toasted baguette and bubbling Gruyère, it is among the greatest comfort foods ever conceived.
20 minPrep Time
1h 30mCook Time
1h 50mTotal
4Serves
MediumDifficulty
February 2024Published
Ingredients
Serves 4
1.5kgbrown onions, thinly sliced
60gunsalted butter
2 tbspolive oil
1 tspsugar
200mldry white wine or vermouth
1.5Lgood beef or vegetable stock
2 sprigsfresh thyme
1bay leaf
8 thick slicesbaguette, toasted
200gGruyère, grated
to tastesalt, pepper, Cognac (optional)
Vegetarian
Method
1
Melt butter and oil in a wide, heavy-based pot over medium-low heat. Add all the onions with 1 tsp salt and the sugar. Stir to coat, then leave to cook slowly, stirring every 10 minutes or so, for 50–60 minutes until deeply golden, jammy and sweet. Do not rush this step.
2
Increase heat to medium, add the wine and let it bubble and reduce until almost gone, scraping up all the sticky bits.
3
Add the stock, thyme and bay leaf. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove herbs, taste and season. A splash of Cognac here is traditional and wonderful.
4
Preheat grill to high. Ladle soup into oven-safe bowls set on a baking tray. Float 2 slices of toasted baguette on each. Cover generously with grated Gruyère.
5
Grill for 3–5 minutes until the cheese is bubbling, golden in patches, and slightly scorched at the edges. Serve immediately, warning guests the bowls are very hot.
Recipe by Luca Ferrante · Published February 2024
