FRENCH ONION SOUP
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 -3 lbs of yellow onions , peeled and sliced from top to tail in thin slices (don't skimp on the onions. If you think you have closer to 3lbs, the better!
- 2 tsp cane sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp AP flour (can be replaced with whole wheat, or even gluten free)
- 1/2 cup of dry sherry , can also use Madiera or Marsala or even Port
- 6 cups of good quality beef stock , unsalted preferably. Homemade would be wonderful here. See Notes below
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme , chopped (can substitute with 1tsp of dried if necessary)
- 1- 1 1/2 tsp Maggi liquid seasoning or Worcestershire sauce
- kosher salt and cracked black pepper
- 1 French baguette , sliced on steep angle, to create a length that should cross the mouth of the bowl you are using
- 10-12 oz of grated or shaved cheeses (use a combination of gruyere, emmental, cheddar, swiss etc) so that you have at least 1/2-2/3 cup of grated cheese per bowl. You can even up the amount if you are feeling especially cheesy!
Instructions
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Melt the butter at medium low heat in a large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot.
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Add all the sliced onions, spreading them out evenly. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and cook at medium heat. Stir regularly to move all onions to get the heat, and to avoid any sticking to the bottom of the pot. Keep cooking until the are melting into a golden brown caramel colour. This should take about 1 hour. Watch the heat, to avoid any scorching of the onions.
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Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir to coat them all.
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Add the sherry, the stock and the chopped thyme.
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Add the Maggi or Worcestershire sauce. Start with 1/2 tsp and taste. Increase to 1 tsp if you feel it needs it.
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Bring to a rolling simmer and then drop to a medium or low simmer.
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Cover partially, and cook for about 30 minutes, allowing the ingredients to combine into the best flavour. In fact, if you start this early enough, let it simmer on low for a good 45 min to an hour. Season with salt and pepper. Start with the pepper, and taste. Then adjust the salt, but do not let it become the dominant flavour.
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Set a baking rack onto the upper third of the oven and turn on the broiler.
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When soup is almost ready, take your baguette slices and toast them under the broiler till just golden. Set these aside.
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Set 6 ovenproof bowls onto a rimmed baking sheet. Don't use too large of bowl, or the bread will end up falling in, and the cheese won't make a fabulous crust.
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Ladle the soup evenly into each bowl, making sure that each gets an amazing amount of onions! The higher the soup goes in the bowl, the higher the bread will sit, and therefore the cheese. Half the fun of this soup is watching the cheese drip and melt onto the sides of the bowls. But this won't happen if there isn't enough soup in the bowls.
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Place one or two slices of the bread on top of each soup bowl. You ideally want most of the soup covered. Cover each bowl with 2/3 cup of cheese (or more!!)
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Place the baking sheet in the upper third of the oven under the broiler. Broil until the cheese is melted, bubbling and crusting up all over. Just make sure the bread doesn't burn.
Recipe Notes
Like I mentioned above, the more cheese the better. So feel free to grate or shave much more than I state. I'm being conservative, and erring on the side of health (if you consider this soup HEALTHY!)
Test the broth to ensure that it isn't too salty. The Maggi or Worcestershire sauce contain salt, so really, you won't need a lot extra. I use either of these, as they truly bring out the savouriness of the beef broth. You can omit this, but then you will be adding more salt. Play it by ear. Or tongue, more correctly.
To make it even more special, why not make a great bone broth? See my recipe here. It can be made with a great combo of bones including shanks, marrow, turkey and chicken all in one pot. It makes for a really well rounded broth.
To make this soup without feeling chained to the stove, why not caramelize your onions in advance? You can store them in the fridge till you are ready to make the soup. I have been even known to make the soup in advance and store this in the fridge till the next evening when I am having company. All you need to do is reheat the soup and top with the bread and cheese! Voila- one less thing to worry on game day!