French Onion Soup
Daria Souvorova
45 minutes
serves: 5-6
I grew up wondering what French Onion soup was. As a Russian, I would question the lack of other flavors. Onions are the start right, and then you add cabbage, and meat, and carrots, and beets…right?
Turns out I was wrong. I had my first bowl of French Onion Soup during a high school trip to France. It was unexpectedly delicious! I made plans of figuring it out myself one day. As I grew older, I realized it was fantastic for more than it’s flavor. It is a great way to keep from throwing away old produce. What a great way to use up a bunch of onions that are close to death! This recipe also happens to be a good way to use up bread that is a bit too stale and cheese that isn’t large enough for a cheese plate.
The addition of butter, vermouth, and white wine really elevate the flavors. Beef broth gives it stability and strength, and there is cheese on top!
I ran out of beef broth when I was making it this week, so I decided to try a substitute. I had some frozen drippings from a roast duck I prepared a while back, so I dumped that in. It was glorious! There was some sweetness and fat in the drippings, so I left out the sugar and the last 2 tablespoons of butter. I highly recommend this variation if you happen to have any drippings on hand.
We paired our soup with a loaf of Whole Wheat Baguette with Sunflower Seeds.
Ingredients:
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- 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter, separated
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4-5 large onions
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 cup (360 mL) dry white wine
- 6 cups (1.5 L) beef broth
- handful of sprigs of thyme and 2 bay leaves, tied with string
- crusty bread, sliced to fit serving ramekins
- 1 clove garlic, cut in half
- 2 teaspoons sherry or vermouth
- 4 ounces (115 g) Gruyère, grated
- salt and pepper
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- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven.
Add oil and onions.
Sauté for 15 minutes. - Season with salt and pepper and sauté until onions have browned, between 15 and 30 minutes.
- Add wine and cook until almost dry, 15-20 minutes.
- Add broth, herbs, and simmer for 20-30 minutes until thickened.
Add 2 tablespoons butter. - Heat broiler and crisp up bread. You want it dried not browned.
Rub one side with a bit of garlic. - Pour soup into ramekins, add garlic toast, sprinkle with cheese.
Broil until melted and bubbly.
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven.
Want more?
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This looks positively delicious for a cold January night!
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Thank you Liz!
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This looks amazing!
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Nice recipe
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French onion soup is such a classic, one of the best, I so love the flavours 🙂
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Thanks Kreso!
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