French Onion Soup
A Little Personal History:
On those cold winter nights, French Onion Soup is one of my go-to soups to warm and fill me up. Here’s my tried and true favorite,
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 2 hours |
| Servings |
people
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Ingredients
- 5 sweet onions Or a combination of sweet and red onions like Vidalia, about 4 pounds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 Tbs butter
- 2 cups white wine
- 1 Tbs of Brandy
- 1¼ cups apple cider
- 1¼ cups Beef Broth
- 1¼ cups Chicken Broth
- 3-4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 small bunch of fresh parsley
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 loaf country style bread
- kosher salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to tast
- 1 cup Fontana or Gruyere cheese grated
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Trim the ends off each onion, remove peel, then slice in half lengthwise. Finely slice halves into half moon shapes. Layer on holding plate, sprinkle with salt and set aside.
- Measure butter and set aside in small bowl.
- Measure out wine and brandy, set aside in medium bowl.
- Measure out cider, beef and chicken broth, set aside in medium bowl.
- Prepare bouquet garni: Tie thyme sprigs, bay leaf and enough parsley to surround them together with kitchen string. Set aside.
- Cut country bread in to 4 rounds large enough to fit mouth of your oven safe soup crocks. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Grate cheese and set aside in small bowl.
- In large skillet, over medium low heat, melt butter.
- Once butter has melted add sliced onions. Do not stir onions until they have sweated down, 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark brown and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.
- Add wine mixture to onions, increase heat to high. Heat until mixture reduces to a syrup consistency.
- Transfer to medium saucepan, over medium-low heat, add beef and chicken broth, apple cider, bouquet garni and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
- While soup simmers, place oven rack in top ⅓ of oven and pre-heat oven to Broil.
- Place baking sheet with bread slices under broiler for 1 minute or until toasted.
- After soup simmers, remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Make sure onions are evenly distributed among crocks. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top each with grated cheese.
- Transfer crocks to baking sheet, return to oven and broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Advanced Preparation:
- Steps 1 – 7 can be done a day in advance, sealed and refrigerated till ready to cook.
- Steps 8 – 11 can be done a day of event, refrigerated and re-heated.
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