I won’t lie when I tell you that French Parmesan Soup will knock your socks off. Intense Parmesan flavor, unforgettable taste, crispy bacon and garlicky croutons make this silky soup an ultimate comfort food for a cold weather. Your family will love it!
French Parmesan Soup With Bacon And Garlicky Croutons
That’s right! Today we’re eating Parmesan Soup. And unless you’ve been to Paris and dined at Stéphane Jégo’s L’Ami Jean restaurant, there is a minimal chance that you’ve tried anything like this before.
In fact, before I came up with a title for this post, I had to do some digging into Google and Pinterest. I searched for other Parmesan Soup recipes, to see how bloggers are titling them.
Guess what?
I haven’t found any single recipe where Parmesan would be a star of the soup. I guess, this is only to my advantage, because now you know a source for the most delicious homemade Parmesan Soup ever.
I was inspired to make this super delicious Parmesan Soup after exploring my favorite cookbook by Mimi Thorisson “A Kitchen In France”. You remember, that I’m pretty obsessed with this book and made quite a few recipes from it. Remember Smoked Salmon And Cream Cheese Vol Au Vents that I made a few weeks ago? Those are scrumptious.
According to Mimi, original Parmesan soup recipe belongs to Stéphane Jégo’s, chef of Parisian L’Ami Jean restaurant. In his recipe, he uses a combination of milk, broth and heavy cream as a liquid base for the soup.
I wanted to make my soup a little bit on the lighter side so I substituted half and half for the heavy cream.
A few notes on cheese. I advice you to buy Parmigiano-Reggiano and not Parmesan that you can find in most grocery stores.
Parmigiano-Reggiano is slightly more expensive but it has so much more flavor and since the soup is based on cheese, go for the real deal.
This soup is quite filling and I advice you to serve it rather as a starter, not the main dish.
Before you make French Parmesan Soup, let me warn you:
It’s extremely flavorful! Just one spoon of the soup and you’ll be hooked. So when the times comes to eating, I won’t blame you if you ladle yourself some more.
In fact, that’s what I did on the night that I made that soup. It was so good! The addition of crispy bacon and garlicky croutons make it irresistible and perfect French comfort food for cold winter nights.
So, on those days, when you feel like preparing something special and easy for your family, give French Parmesan Soup a try and let me know how you liked it.
French Parmesan Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3.5 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano sliced
- 1 large shallot finely minced
- 1 ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups half and half
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon chives minced optional
For the croutons
- 4 slices bacon finely chopped
- 6 slices baguette cut into small cubes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves pushed through garlic press
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium pot and over medium heat.
- Add shallot and cook stirring occasionally until translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add ¾ of Parmigiano Reggiano, chicken broth, milk and half and half. Reduce the heat to low, season with salt and pepper and simmer the soup for 45 minutes, until all ingredients are melted.
- Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet and over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until bacon is crispy. Transfer to a paper towel.
- After 45 minutes, add the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano into the soup and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Using a stand blender, purée the soup and strain through a sieve.
- Serve immediately with crispy bacon, garlicky croutons and sprinkling of chives.
For the croutons
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan and over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute until garlic releases its aroma.
- Strain the olive oil and discard garlic.
- Spread baguette cubes on a parchment lined baking dish. Drizzle with garlic-infused olive oil and toss well. Bake for 10-15 minutes until croutons are crisp and slightly browned.
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