French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup is one of those recipes that can be as complex or as simple as you want (or as you have the energy for).
Onions, broth, bread, cheese.
So you could: use 1/2 cup butter, caramelize those onions for an hour, use homemade stock and bread and the fanciest gruyere cheese.
Or: use a couple tablespoons of butter, get the onions soft in 30, flavor some store bought broth and serve it with a grilled cheese on your favorite multigrain bread.
I will honestly go both ways with this recipe, but often end up in between depending on what I have around and how much patience I have. No matter how you do it, its warming and delicious and satisfying and feels fancy even though its just onions, broth, bread and cheese.
Here’s how:
French Onion Soup (multiple ways) Serves 4 (adapted from Food Network)
2 T - 1/2 c butter (amount is, truly, up to you)
3-4 large Vidalia onions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 t thyme
1 t salt
1/2 - 1 c red wine (amount is also, up to you)
2 T flour
2 quarts stock (homemade or store bought, chicken or beef)
Salt and pepper, to taste, and umami bombs such as Marmite and Worcestershire sauce
2 slices of bread (homemade, baguette, multigrain toast, etc.)
1/2 c grated gruyere cheese
The Process:
Heat the butter in a large dutch oven or stock pot. The amount of butter honestly doesn’t matter, just more butter = richer taste
Add the onions to the pot, along with garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt. Cook until the onions are soft and caramelized - you’ll need to stir the pot every few minutes, but leave it sometimes to help develop the golden color. It takes about 30 minutes for the basic base, but you could go for up to an hour for richer flavor and darker color (if going for longer, I’d use 4 onions vs 3 as they cook down significantly)
Add the wine and cook until reduced to a thick glaze. Sprinkle over the flour, stir, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently
Add the stock, bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes. While this is happening, toast your bread (in a toaster or with the broiler in the oven)
The next step depends on how you seasoned the onions and your stock - taste and add seasoning as needed. Salt and pepper for sure, but if you used something like low sodium store bought broth you might want to add some more umami taste like Marmite or Worcestershire sauce (a little at a time, add and taste until its right)
Turn the broiler to high. Ladle the soup into oven proof dishes, top with the bread and the shredded cheese so they cover the top of the bowl. Put under the boiler until the cheese is melted and golden (5ish minutes - I put mine in and check every 2 minutes as it really depends on your oven, rack positioning, etc.)
I like to serve mine with a butter lettuce salad