There’s something about my mother’s 70s onion soup bowl set that makes it really special every time I make this recipe. They were handmade back in the day when French Onion Soup was all the rage. Around the same time as fondues, I think – I have one of those original pots too but that’s another recipe. I think the key to this soup is the time it takes to caramelize the onions. It takes a bit of patience to caramelize correctly but is well worth the effort with the end result. Serve with a salad for a nice meatless meal.
French Onion Soup
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 Medium sized white onions sliced very thinly
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
- 1 tsp each sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups beef or chicken broth I prefer beef
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 or 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- splash of olive oil for bread
- 8 slices french baguette
- 2 cups Swiss or Gruyere cheese grated
Instructions
- Start by caramelizing the onions by melting the butter and olive oil in a large pot. on medium heat. Add sliced onions in batches to allow them to soften up so you are not adding all at once. Stir to coat with butter-oil mixture and continue stirring off and on for 10 or 15 minutes until onions are transparent. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Continue cooking on medium to low heat allowing the onions to darken in colour and scraping any brown bits from pan. You can add a splash of water or broth to the pan if they seem to be drying out. This process will take about 45 minutes and they should be light to golden brown.
- At this point. you can now add in the wine, broth, Worcestershire and bay leaves and cover to simmer for about 30 minutes while you prepared the baguettes.
- Preheat the over to about 350. Slice the baguette into slices about 3/4 to 1" thick and arrange on a cookie sheet. Depending on the size of the bowl and bread you may need one or two per bowl. Drizzle bread lightly with olive oil and place in oven to toast to light golden brown on both sides. Once done remove from oven and set aside.
- Place onion soup bowls on a cookie sheet and ladle soup into each bowl to about 3/4 full. Arrange bread pieces atop each bowl and top with generous amounts of grated cheese.
- Place soup bowls in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Finish under the broiler until they are nicely golden and melty. Serve immediately.
Leave a Reply