Tried the viral French onion soup pasta and I think…

Part of my job description is testing current trend recipes. More often than not, this means cooking outrageous TikTok jokes – usually with more than questionable results. Sprite pieeveryone? Sauerkraut Chocolate Cakeeveryone?

Of course there are also one or two pasta recipes in between, … where I still more skeptical than I react anyway. Because while I’m a big believer in cultural exchange and mashups (cue Jimi Hendrix Experience, AC Cobra, Chicken Tikka Masala, etc.), I usually have to draw the line when it comes to pasta. In fact, no, not for chauvinistic reasons, but simply because I’ve never come across an “adapted” or “reinterpreted” pasta recipe that would have been better than the Italian original. I’m especially suspicious of dishes that are supposed to be “refined with cream” or that contain the terms “one pot” or “creamy” in the title.

And now I’m confronted with a recipe that confirms my preconceptions several times: it’s a) a TikTok trend, b) it seems to come from the US and c) it’s a casserole pasta dish.

@carolbeecooks’ first TikTok video went viral in January 2022 with 1.2 million views. Over a year later, the hashtag #frenchonionpasta is trending again – a total of 21.2 million hits on TikTok alone.

A little web research confirms my suspicion: it’s a mashup between a classic Frenchman Soup a l’oignon and … pasta.

So the omens aren’t that bad, because classic French onion soup is one of my favorite recipes. Okay, let’s put it to the test!

Ingredients:

^{(For 2 people)}

Carolyn uses sherry; I know port wine as an ingredient for a Soup a l’oignon … I used dry French vermouth because I had it on hand. And, yes, about the cream… oh, fine for me. But actually it doesn’t need it. But let’s see how the cooking goes:

Preparation:

Unfortunately I don’t (yet) have a cast iron Le Creuset casserole, but I do have the soup pot. And yes, folks, there is no shortcut for the onion. It takes so long.

In a few words: Yes, yes. Neatly fine.
I’m still hesitant to cook the pasta in the same pan (and if I’m being picky, the pasta is a little less consistent when it comes to al dente), but it worked out in the end. You don’t need cream because you use quite a lot of butter, which gives the dish depth and heaviness. Bravo, TikTok, that worked out.

Is it as mind-blowing, such a game-changer as TikTok would have us believe? No, not that either. The TikTok audience is very young and has therefore – purely mathematically – tasted fewer different types of food in their lifetime. The children are quickly enthusiastic.
And I stick to it: Soupe à l’oignon without pasta, but classically baked with baguette croutons and cheese is the better dish. And then I eat the pasta separately.