YOUR OWN FRENCH ONION SOUP

Soupe a l'oignon, `a large bowl of it bubbling under a
brown crust of cheese, is practically a meal in itself.
Serve it after a football game, at a Sunday-night
supper, or as a midnight snack. Its rich aroma, its
wonderful flavor and savor, have made French onion
soup a world favorite. Here are directions for brewing
your own, and for giving your personal touches to
canned and dehaydrated onion soups.

            SOUPE A L'OIGNON, MAISON
              (Homemade French Onion Soup)
                  Fon 6 TO 8 Suuvmcs

  Onion soup is simply a large quantity of sliced
onions slowly cooked and browned in butter, then
simmered in beef bouillon. To achieve the true home-
made taste, you'll need a homemade bouillon-beef
bones and shank meat simmered for several hours with
the usual carrots, onions, celery, seasonings, and herbs.
If your own bouillon is lacking, substitute canned
beef bouillon.

  A heavy 4-quart saucepan or     3 Tb flour
   casserole                      2 quarts hot beef bouillon
  3 Tb butter                       (you may dilute canned
  1 Tb olive oil or cooking oil     bouillon with 2 cups of
  About 1 1/2 lbs. or 5 to 6        water)
   cups thinly sliced yellow      1 cup red or white wine
   onions                         1 bay leaf
  1 tsp salt                      1/2 tsp sage
  1/2 tsp sugar                   Salt and pepper to taste

  Melt the butter with the oil in the saucepan or
 casserole; add the sliced onions and stir up to coat
  with the butter. Cover the pan and cook over mod-
  erately low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasion-
  ally, until onions are tender and translucent. Then un-
  cover the pan, raise heat to moderately high, and stir
  in the salt and sugar. (Sugar, by caramelizing helps
  onions to brown.) Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring
  frequently, until onions have turned an even deep
  golden brown.
    Then lower heat to moderate, stir in the flour, and
  add a bit more butter if flour does not absorb into a
  paste with the onions. Cook slowly, stirring Continu-
  ally, for about 2 minutes to brown the flour lightly.
  Remove from heat.
    Pour in about a cup of the hot bouillon, stirring
 with a wire whip to blend flour and bouillon. Add the
 rest of the bouillon and the wine, bay, and sage, and
 bring to the simmer. Simmer slowly for 30 to 40 min-
 utes, season to taste with salt and pepper, and the
 soup is done, If you are not serving immediately, let
 cool uncovered, then cover and refrigerate.
   Serve with French bread and grated Parmesan
 cheese, or bake with cheese as follows.

I usually need more sugar to help the browning of the
onions.  I use only half as much beef stock. Then I freeze
the soup in one pint containers or one cup containers.
Add the extra stock when making soup, one can per pint
container.  Or add the concentrate to stews.

            Soupe a l'Oignon Gratinée
         (Onion Soup Gratin~ed with Cheese)

  This turns onion soup into a hearty main course; all
you need to complete the meal is a bottle of red wine,
perhaps a green salad, and fresh fruit. You may pre-
pare all the elements for this ahead of time, but once
the soup is assembled in its casserole, you should pro-
ceed with the recipe or the bread may sink to the
bottom of the dish. (Note: You will need a chewy
homemade type of bread; the light flimsy kind usually
disintegrates in the soup.)

  A loaf of French bread         A peeled 2-inch raw onion
  Olive oil or melted butter     A 2-ounce piece Swiss cheese
  The preceding soup, brought    1½ cups grated Swiss and
   to the simmer                   Parmesan cheese, mixed
  Optional: ¼ cup cognac

  Cut the bread into slices 1 inch thick, paint lightly
with oil or butter, and arrange in one layer on a bak-
ing sheet. Place in middle level of a preheated 325-
degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until beginning to
brown lightly; turn and brown lightly for 15 to 20
minutes on the other side. These are called croutes.
  Pour the hot soup into a serving casserole or baking
dish. Pour in the optional cognac, grate in the onion,
and shave the piece of cheese into fine slivers and strew
over the soup. Place a closely packed layer of croiites
over the top of the soup and spread on the grated
cheese, covering the crouites completely. Sprinkle a
tablespoon of oil or butter over the cheese, and set
the soup in the middle level of a preheated 350-degree
oven, Bake for about 30 minutes, or until soup is bub-
bling slowly and cheese has melted.
  Meanwhile, heat your broiler to red hot; just before
serving, run the soup under the hot broiler for a mo-
ment to brown the cheese lightly. Pass remaining
crolites in a bread tray along with the soup,


  Your Own Dehydrated or Canned Onion Soup

  Reconstitute the soup as directed on the package or
can. Then add a cup of red or white wine, a bay leaf,
and a half teaspoon of sage or thyme (for 7 to 8 cups
of soup); simmer the soup for 20 minutes. If con-
sistency seems too thin, you can thicken it by cream-
ing a tablespoon or two of flour and butter together
in a small bowl, beating in a bit of hot soup, then
pouring this back into the soup and simmering for a
few minutes. Serve the soup as is, or substitute it for
the homemade soup in the preceding recipe,