French Onion Soup
Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s French Onion Soup uses a special technique for caramelizing onions: he starts with a cold pan, adds the onion, then turns the heat to high. Starting with a cold pan offers a few advantages. First, it allows you to more precisely control the temperature, letting the onions cook evenly all the way through, without shocking (and possibly burning) the outside when it first hits the pan. It also lets flavors build more gradually as you increase the heat; a definite benefit for sweet and tender caramelized onions. It still takes time, as caramelizing does, but with this technique, you’ll have just-dark-enough, golden, delicious onions every time.
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Recipe Summary
Ingredients
Directions
Notes
When using store-bought stock, please reduce to a third of the original volume. For example, for 6 cups of stock use 18 cups of store-bought beef stock, and reduce.