French onion soup | Something New For Dinner
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French onion soup

5 votes, average: 4.80 out of 55 votes, average: 4.80 out of 55 votes, average: 4.80 out of 55 votes, average: 4.80 out of 55 votes, average: 4.80 out of 5

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SKILL LEVEL :
Easy but takes some time

French onion soup and fond memories

When my husband and I were in our early 20's we were both living in Honolulu. He was starting out as a very underpaid lawyer and part-time gardener, and I was waiting tables to pay for college. So there wasn't much extra cash to go around. There was a very chichi French restaurant called The Bistro that offered a late night special after 10 p.m. The after-dinner $10 special included Caesar salad, classic French onion soup and Peach Melba. In the late 70's this was heady stuff. It was our favorite splurge. So whenever I think of French onion soup, I think of our on-a-tight-budget, but very romantic dates, back in the day.

The secret to great French onion soup

French onion soup, on the surface, is a very simple soup made of onions, broth, bread and cheese. There is one key step that delineates the line between an oh-my-gosh-this-is-delicious French onion soup and a watery-flavorless-really? French onion soup. The secret is patient, fastidious and slow caramelizing of the onions.

 

You can't rush great onions. And you need the right pot. Use something large, heavy and substantial. Do not use a non-stick pan. Non-stick pans will not caramelize. My favorite pan for caramelizing onions is my Le Creuset Dutch oven, but you can also use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet or a heavy-gauged stainless steel pan.

 

Caramelizing onions doesn't take a a lot of skill, but it does take a tremendous amount of patience. Working on a medium or lower heat, plan on spending a good 45 minutes or more caramelizing the onions. Seriously. And you need to be attentive and stir them frequently, or you will wind up with unusable burnt onions. This is a particular tragedy when it occurs late in the game. I have been there and tossed pans full of onions. It still hurts!

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Why go through this laborious process for a lowly onion?

Because caramelizing onions is transformational. You start with a crisp, eye-watering, astringent bulb, and with a little heat, patience and love, you get sweet strands of mellow goodness that enhance everything they touch - soup, sandwiches, pizza, potatoes, salad, pasta, steak, chicken....you name it. If you are working on a tight budget, learning to properly caramelize onions is a great technique for adding high-value, low-cost flavor to your meals. See my recipe for Caramelized onions for more tips.  

Tips

  • Slice your onions one of two ways: Stem-to-stern, or in rings. Stem-to-stern are easier to eat, but I personally like the rings for the way they catch the melting cheese in the finished soup.
  • If you are making a double batch, caramelize the onions in two pans. Once the onions are done, you can combine the onions in one pan before adding the stock.
  • To help the caramelization process along, you can add a pinch of sugar to the onions about 10 minutes into the caramelization process.
  • If onion bits start to stick to the bottom, you can deglaze with a splash of water, wine or stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits. Feel free to do this as many times as needed during the process. This is one of the ways you build flavor into the soup.
  • The time to caramelize will vary depending on a variety of factors including: the age of the onion, the heat of your burner and the gauge of your pan. It is up to you how far you take them. You will know they are done when they taste sweet and wonderful.
  • You can use red or white wine, and chicken or beef stock. I prefer to use red wine and a 2:1 ratio of chicken to beef stock, but this is all a matter of preference, or what you have on hand.
  • You need to use a proper French onion soup bowl that will withstand the heat of the broiler. There are a couple options that can be purchased online, with handles and without handles.
  • If you don't have proper bowls, melt the cheese on the bread on a baking sheet and then top each soup bowl with a melty piece of cheese and bread.
  • Don't go overboard with the cheese. Many restaurants use too much cheese, making it more cheese soup than onion soup. You want to taste the onions you worked so hard on.
  • French onion soup freezes well. I always make a double batch. When I go through the trouble of caramelizing all those onions, I want to get a couple meals out of my time.

This French onion soup recipe

This French onion soup recipe evolved over time and after trying many recipes. The addition of a spoonful of dijon mustard comes from a May 1991 Bon Appetit recipe by Eleanor Moscatel. It is unique for French onion soup, but I think it adds good complexity. I sometimes add a splash of balsamic vinegar or a splash of worcestershire sauce, if I feel the soup needs a little more umami oomph.

A meal in itself

For me, French onion soup is virtually a meal in itself, or can be accompanied by a light salad. Nothing is better on a cool winter's night, or a balmy Hawaiian evening, when you are young, in love and broke.

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French onion soup

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Classic French onion soup is always a winner. Learn the key step to making exceptional French onion soup.

  • Author: Something New For Dinner
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hours 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hours 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 1/2 pounds yellow onions, sliced
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 2 T butter
  • 2 cloves garlic (optional)
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 pinch sugar (optional)
  • 1/2 cup red or white wine
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 t dijon mustard
  • 1 T balsamic vinegar (optional)
  • 1/2 t Worcestershire sauce (optional)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 slices French bread
  • 1 cup grated gruyere cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. When the fat is hot, add your onions and stir to coat well. Add a pinch of salt and a sprig of thyme and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. During the first 10 or so minutes, the onions will soften and release water.
  2. Add garlic, stir and continue cooking for another 20 to 50 minutes, stirring frequently. You can add a pinch of sugar to help the process along. Turn down the heat if the onions start to brown too rapidly. When they start to stick to the pan, deglaze with a little bit of wine, water or broth. You want your onions to slowly darken and never burn or crisp.
  3. When the onions are done, add the wine and deglaze the pan by scraping up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook for a minute or two and add your stock and mustard. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust flavor using salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
  4. Heat the broiler to high and toast the bread on both sides until golden brown. Pour the hot soup into oven proof bowls. Float a slice of bread on top of the soup. Put a quarter cup of gruyere and 2 T grated parmesan on top of each slice of bread. Pop it in the oven several inches below the broiler and melt cheese for 2-3 minutes until brown and bubbly.
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6 COMMENTS

Comments

  1. Cassie Hughes says:

    Maybe you should give alternatives to oven proof bowls as not everyone has them, and you should also use cup measurements as not everyone has a scale……

    1. Kim Pawell says:

      Hi Cassie, Thank you for writing in. I understand the concern that everyone does not have every tool I use in my recipes. I try to recommend specific equipment only when I feel there is a compelling reason for it. The reason I suggest oven-proof bowls is that in order to get the gooey, cheesey top that defines a great French Onion soup you need to put the individual bowls under high heat in the broiler. If you don’t use oven-proof bowls they could crack and shatter under the high heat. So it is a safety issue. Plus what a bummer if you lose your entire dinner to a cracked bowl, not to mention the mess! I don’t recommend making this soup the traditional way without the proper bowls. If you don’t have oven proof bowls, a way around it would be to toast the cheese covered bread on a baking sheet, then when they are golden and gooey, take them out and put them on top of each bowl of hot soup. Where there is a will there is a way!

      Regarding the use of scales vs. measuring cups. I frequently use scale measurements instead of cup measurements because a scale is incredibly more accurate. If you use a measuring cup you will get vastly different amounts of an ingredient depending on how you chop the ingredients, how you measure the ingredient and how tightly you pack the ingredient. Use of a scale takes all the variation out. If you don’t have a scale you can weigh your ingredients while you are at the grocery store as most produce sections offer scales. Alternatively, if you would like to invest in a scale, this highly rated model is under $15.

  2. McKennae says:

    Kim, thank you for this recipe! I am one to look up a bunch of different recipes online and then combine them to my own, so I’ll be honest that I didn’t use your exact recipe. However this is the one I “based” mine off of and I added the Dijon mustard as well! I did 3 onions and I think I added to much oil in the beginning because it took me about an hour and 15 mins to carmelize my onions (along with adjusting the heat 5+ times)! I didn’t use chicken broth but I did one low sodium beef broth box and one regular beef broth box. I also used everything organic except for the cheese (opted out of the parmesean). I used a 12″ non stick pan and had to toast my bread and cheese prior to putting it on since I didn’t have oven proof bowls, but it still came out better than I thought it would. This was my first time making this soup though and I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. Thank you for the inspiration!

    1. Kim Pawell says:

      Hi McKennae, Thank you for writing in. I am so glad you were happy with the recipe. You and I are kindred sisters, I never follow a recipe closely. Which is one of the reasons I’m a better cook than a baker! There is a lot of variation in how long it takes to caramelize onions. The time varies by onion, the type and size of pan you are using, how many onions you put in the pot and how hot your stove gets. One stove’s medium is another stove’s medium high. Here is my recipe for Caramelized Onions. There may be a trick or two in it that will help you the next time you caramelize onions.

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