French Lyonnaise Onion Soup

Lyonnaise soup with onions is not only delicious but also easy to cook. In Lyon, the onion soup is eaten at dinner time in a “bouchon”, a small local restaurant where people eat typical and popular lyonnaise food: the deck of sapper, cake and chicken liver dumplings, the brains of Canute (a cheese mixture) to name a few…

This refined onion soup had even seduced the King of Poland… This is at an hostel in Chalons-en-Champagne that the King ate a gratin: he was so seduced by the subtlety and flavorings that he would not leave until he had mastered the art of cooking this tasty hot starter.

Another Lyonnaise tradition reserves the onion soup to night owls and party animals who eat the onion soup at dawn, at the end of an evening with friends… which extended to morning hours. In this case, the aims to prepare a soup that “sponge” and “wash” excesses of alcohol.

Level of difficulty : Easy
Preparation : 20 min
Baking: 45 min

Ingredients list: Lyonnaise Onion Soup

Serves 4

• 3lbs (1.2 kg) of large onions
• 1 3/4 ounces (50 g) of duck fat
• 3 pints (150 cl) of chicken stock — you can get the chicken stock recipe here
• 3 1/2 ounces (100 g) of Beaufort cheese
• Salt, pepper

Preparation: Lyonnaise Onion Soup

1. Peel the onions and chop them finely.
2. Heat the duck fat in a frying pan.
3. Add onions.
4. Then sweat them over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring regularly.
5. Add the chicken stock.
6. Simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Remove half the onions and set them aside.
8. Pour remaining mixture into a bowl.
9. Mix until a you get a creamy soup. You can use a hand blender.
10. Adjust the seasoning.
11. Pour the soup into a oven proof tureen or dish.
12. Add the onions on top with the strips of Beaufort cheese.
13. Let brown in the oven

Serve hot.

Wine suggestion: A Corbières (Red wine from Languedoc-Roussillon)

Bon appetit !