Description
Savor hearty French onion soup, a classic comfort dish from France that warms souls with rich caramelized onions and melted cheese. Crusty bread and deep beef broth create a luxurious experience you’ll crave on chilly evenings.
Ingredients
Scale
Protein and Broth:
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup dry white wine (optional)
Main Ingredients:
- 4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Seasonings and Additions:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper to taste
Bread and Cheese Topping:
- 4 to 6 slices of baguette, toasted
- 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (or a mix of Gruyere and Swiss)
Instructions
- Melt butter and olive oil in a spacious pot over medium temperature, creating a flavorful base for caramelization.
- Incorporate sliced onions with sugar and salt, gradually transforming them into a rich, golden-brown delicacy through patient stirring and occasional heat adjustment.
- Introduce minced garlic, allowing its aromatic essence to permeate the caramelized onions for a brief moment.
- Deglaze the pot with white wine, expertly lifting the concentrated flavor fragments from the bottom of the vessel and reducing the liquid slightly.
- Stream in beef broth, water, thyme, and bay leaf, elevating the liquid to a gentle boil before reducing to a contemplative simmer.
- Allow the soup to harmonize its flavors, simmering until the ingredients whisper their collective story, then discard the herb remnants.
- Prepare the broiler to high intensity while positioning oven-safe bowls strategically.
- Carefully ladle the fragrant soup into individual vessels, crowning each with a crisp baguette slice and blanket of melty Gruyere cheese.
- Position the bowls under the broiler, watching intently as the cheese transforms into a bubbling, golden landscape.
- Present the soup immediately, optionally adorning with delicate fresh thyme sprigs for a final touch of elegance.
Notes
- Caramelize onions slowly to develop deep, rich flavor without burning by maintaining medium-low heat and stirring occasionally.
- Use sweet onions like Vidalia for a mellower taste that enhances the soup’s natural sweetness.
- Make gluten-free by substituting baguette with gluten-free bread or omitting bread entirely and using crispy cheese crisps as a topping.
- Create a vegetarian version by replacing beef broth with robust vegetable stock and adding mushroom powder for umami depth.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Appetizer
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 750 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg