France

French Onion Soup

Posted by savage01950 on

Rating: 1 out of 5.
Homemade French Onion Soup

French onion soup has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I used to order it at the resort my family and I stayed at during the summer in the lakes region of New Hampshire and the combination of the melty cheese mixed with the rich broth was just perfect. Over the past year I have made it my goal to make a delicious and authentic recipe of this French specialty and I am proud to include it below.

NOTE: For this recipe you will need a set of oven-safe crocks. I have attached the link to the ones I have here.

INGREDIENTS (6 servings):

  • 1 Stick Salted Butter
  • 4 Large Cloves Garlic, minced
  • 6 Large White Onions, sliced into long strips
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste – will add at a few different times throughout cooking process
  • 3 Bay Leaves
  • 6 Sprigs Thyme, green leaves removed and added and twigs discarded
  • 1 Cup Cabernet Wine, I used Apothic Cab
  • 1/2 Cup Cognac
  • 2 Tablespoons Flour
  • 8 Cups Beef Broth
  • 1/2 Baguette
  • 12 Slices Gruyere Cheese

HOW TO MAKE FRENCH ONION SOUP

  1. Add onions, garlic, stick butter and about 1 tsp of salt to a large soup pan. Heat over medium, stirring frequently , until onions are translucent. About 10 minutes.
  2. Add the wine, cognac, thyme and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. You will want to leave this simmering until all the liquid is evaporated. In my experience this usually takes between 10-20 minutes. NOTE: the 1 cup of cabernet will be about half of a bottle of wine. If you are opening a full bottle, I highly recommend having the rest with your soup – that’s at least what I do! 🙂
  3. Turn heat down to low and sprinkle the mixture with the flour. Stir constantly for 5 minutes. This will be enough to do away with the raw-flour taste and muddy texture but also thicken the soup slightly.
  4. Add the beef broth and another teaspoon of salt (and pepper to taste). Again, bring to a simmer. Cook about 10-15 minutes to combine flavors.
  5. Slice the baguette diagonally into 1-inch slices and place on a baking sheet under the broiler set on high. Once the side which is facing up becomes light brown, flip the baguette to toast the other.
  6. Ladle the soup into crocks, about 2/3 of the way full. Top each with 2 slices of toasted baguette and finally with 2 slices of gruyere cheese (the cheese may have to be offset to completely cover the opening of the crock). Put the crocks on the baking sheet.
  7. Place the baking sheet back in the oven directly under the heat source and set the broiler to ‘high’. Broil while watching constantly until the cheese is melted, bubbly and slightly brown on top.
  8. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and using oven mitts place each crock on a separate dish to serve. The crocks will be WICKED hot. Don’t try to touch them with your hands.

Enjoy!! – Kimberly Savage

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