Comments on: French (Red) Onion Soup

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:46:20 +0000

Finally made this yesterday. It is a great recipe and beautifully simple to make and was really appreciated by all of us at supper. In the absence of Manchego and Gruyère I used parmesan (I know sounds weird but it works if you butter the bread and sprinkle on lots of grated parmesan)
I am English but I live in Rome and here I feel very aware of the muddle that surrounds the import and export of food. I know local producers who wouldn’t survive without export and the international market and others that are struggling and will probably fail because of it.
It’s difficult. We have a responsibility to think about it.

By: Kasey

Kasey — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:03:39 +0000

Oh my God. Red onions, machego cheese and star anise?? This, I have to try. It sure ain’t your grandmother’s soup, that’s for sure.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:44:26 +0000

Natasha: Great! I am so glad you liked it. Fennel sounds like it would be delicious.

By: Natasha

Natasha — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:42:22 +0000

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! This is most amazing soup! I made it this weekend. I was not able to find star anise anywhere, so I used fennel instead as I figured the flavours are similar, and I used Gruyere cheese. Awesome does not even come close to describing how wonderful this is :)

By: Milena

Milena — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:14:46 +0000

What a gorgeous looking onion soup. My mouth just waters. Thank you for the recipe.

By: Whitney

Whitney — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Lovely post. That issue of Gourmet made me yearn to go to France. I have only been once (to Paris) for 3 days, when I was 18 and just tried to cram as much in as I could.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:29:18 +0000

Hi Jenny: You use the whole pod. The anise is used to flavor the broth and then is strained out and discarded when you add the broth to the onions. I hope that helps!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:07:09 +0000

I have never used star anise before, I looked it up on wikipedia, but it shows a picture of seeds inside the star pods. Just throw the whole thing in there or just the seeds? Do you actually include it in the bowls then for the broiling part or is it just for flavoring the broth?

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:52:32 +0000

I love star anise, and I love french onion soup, but I never would have thought to combine the two. Very inspired… I’m excited to try it.

By: Anticiplate

Anticiplate — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:18:26 +0000

YES! Another recipe to use star anise. I bet the sharpness of the red onion with the sweetness of the anise is divine!

By: Sivan

Sivan — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:56:34 +0000

this looks so awesome! can’t wait to try it!!

By: Hayley

Hayley — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:19:44 +0000

I hadn’t heard about this cheese situation we’ve got on our hands. It seems crazy to me. Anyways, the soup looks delicious. I love a nice French onion. The flavors are so deep and complex, and it’s a breeze to make.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:54:42 +0000

Yes, I have read that meetings are taking place to discuss the issue and it seems as though the French are optimistic that Obama might overturn some of these rulings. We’ll see…

By: Phoo-D

Phoo-D — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:49:27 +0000

I loved that issue of Gourmet – especially the part about the French cheese! We have been enjoying star anise a lot lately so I am interested to give this recipe a try. Do you know of any efforts to repeal the tariff? I am already incensed over the restriction of raw milk cheese imports and hearing this really makes me angry.
Phoo-D

By: The Duo Dishes

The Duo Dishes — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:13:26 +0000

Deep down inside we have a preference for red onions. It’s just one of those things. Love that you changed up the recipe and used red instead!

By: MyFrogs

MyFrogs — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:57:25 +0000

Yum! Used to live in NL and when ever I’d go to Amsterdam, I always would go have french onion soup at this little resturant on the Museum Plein, across from the Van Gogh museum. It was the absolute best ever! I’ve never made onion soup, now I just might have to! Looks GOOD!

By: unconfidentialcook.com

unconfidentialcook.com — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:31:48 +0000

It’s cold and rainy in southern california, and I’m going to make this for dinner tonight. I love that you use chicken stock instead of beef–thank you!

By: fresh365

fresh365 — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:31:23 +0000

Oh this looks wonderful! I love onion soup- I’ll have to try this version next time!

By: Mara @ What's For Dinner?

Mara @ What's For Dinner? — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:10:52 +0000

Wow, this really looks delicious! My mom’s recipe is fairly similar, but I’m digging the addition of star anise!

By: heather

heather — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:25:49 +0000

an improvement on a classic? quite possibly! looks fabulous!

cheers,

*heather*