The Best French Onion Soup Recipe
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Category: |
Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 4 large yellow onions
2 large sweet onions
6 Tablespoons butter
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 Bay leaves
¾ cup dry white wine Chardonnay or Pinto Grigio
4 cups beef broth high quality is key
1.5 cups chicken broth
Salt/Pepper, to taste
1 baguette
3 Tablespoons olive oil optional
6 slices Gruyere cheese Less expensive options include Swiss, Provolone.
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Directions: |
Directions:Slice the onions into strings of medium-size. They'll shrink down and you don't want them too thin. (Using a mandoline slicer makes this much easier).
Melt the butter in a large (4-5 quart) soup pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onions and use tongs to toss and coat them in the butter. Leave them uncovered as they cook.
The onions will caramelize slowly, this takes patience. 6 large onions could take over an hour to fully caramelize. Stir the onions every 20 minutes or so until they've reached your desired size and color.
How to Caramelize Onions
Caramelizing onions takes patience more than anything else. Follow the simple steps below and the rest will take care of itself.
Don’t cut the onions too thin: You want medium slices, as they will shrink down and you don’t want them to be too thin or stringy.
Coat the onions generously in butter, using a set of tongs makes them easy to toss around in the pot.
Low and slow: Cook the onions over medium-low heat. This process takes some time but the end result is well worth it.
Use more Onions than you think: Onions made up of over 80% water. They shrink down considerably as they cook, as you will see below.Add the white wine, increase the heat to medium, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Pour in the beef and chicken broth and add the bay leaves and thyme. Simmer for another 45 minutes, with the lid cracked.
While the soup simmers, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the baguette into ½ inch thick slices. Brush the tops with olive oil if desired. Plan on using 1-2 slices per bowl depending on the width of the bread and the bowls you are using.
Increase the oven temperature to a low broil. Top each baguette with cheese and bake in the oven until the cheese melts and begins to bubble and brown slightly. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stems. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle the warm soup into each bowl and use tongs to top each of them with the warm baguettes. Top with thyme if desired and serve! |
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Number Of
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Number Of
Servings:6 Servings |
Preparation
Time: |
Preparation
Time:15 minutes |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Cook time is 1 hour 25 minutes. This traditional French Onion Soup has warm baguettes topped with hot, melted Gruyere cheese. High quality beef broth, a splash of wine, and perfectly caramelized onions are the secrets to this classic recipe. Other cheese options include Comte, Emmental (Swiss), and/or Provolone.
I have tried several different wines in French Onion Soup and find dry white wine to be the best.
A splash of Worcestershire sauce can be added when the beef broth is added as well.
Crock Pot Method: Once the onions are caramelized as shown above, transfer them to a Crock pot. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
Let it cool prior to freezing and store it in an airtight container.
It’s best if used within 3 months of freezing.
Freeze only the soup, don’t include bread/cheese with it.
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