French onion soup is a comforting and delicious meal that can be served as a starter or main course. This recipe serves four and requires a grill, sharp knife, oven-safe soup bowls, large pot, onions, broth, butter, red wine or port, Gruyere or Jarlsberg cheese, and a baguette. The onions are caramelized in butter, then simmered with broth and wine before being topped with bread and cheese and grilled until bubbly. Pre-made onion soup, store-bought French toast, and bouillon cubes can be used as shortcuts.
French onion soup can be one of the ultimate comfort foods and is a delicious way to start a meal. Alternatively, the richness of French onion soup accompanied by a salad will often serve as a complete meal, whether it’s lunch or dinner.
Recipes abound for French Onion Soup, in cookbooks and online. This following recipe makes enough soup to serve four. The recipe can be doubled for more guests or halved for fewer. You’ll also need several important tools along the way.
For French Onion Soup you need access to:
A grill
A sharp knife
Oven-safe soup bowls that can withstand grill temperatures
A large pot
Necessary ingredients for french onion soup
1-2 pounds (.45-.9 kg) of onions
8 cups (1.89 liters) Beef broth, chicken broth or vegetable broth
Burro
½ (.125 liters) cup of red wine or port
8 slices Gruyere or Jarlsberg cheese
A baguette
Pepe
Work prep
Start by chopping the onions. Ideally, the onions should be cut into thin layers of slices about 1-2.54 cm long, but you can also cut the onions into smaller slices. Also cut four to eight slices of baguette about 0.25 inch (.63 cm) thick. You can cut the bread into cubes instead, but the sliced baguette is more traditional. Some people have also chosen to grate the cheese rather than cut it into slices. Again the cheese slices are quicker and make a more traditional French onion soup.
Cooking Stages
Start by sauteing the chopped onions in the butter in the large pot. Your goal should be to make caramelized onions that still have a little bite. Depending on the heat used, this process can take between 10-20 minutes. The onions should be sweet when sautéed. Also, lightly toast the baguette slices.
Next you’ll want to add your beef stock. Look for a reduced stock of salt beef whenever possible. Bring the broth and onions to a boil and then simmer the pot for at least 30 minutes. Note: This should be done in the same pot you used to cook the onions. If you use a different pan to saute the onions you will lose some of their flavor.
About halfway through the simmering process, add the red wine or port. You can skip this if you’re not cooking with alcohol, but it does add a richer flavor to French onion soup. Add pepper and possibly salt to taste at the same time add the wine. Also, fire up the grill on high right now. If you don’t have a grill, simply set the oven to maximum temperature.
When the soup is sufficiently cooked, pour it into ovenproof bowls and top each bowl with a slice of crouton. Then layer on the cheese. The goal should be for total coverage of the top of each bowl. If necessary, use more slices of cheese to achieve this.
Place the bowls on the grill and keep a close eye on them, as this part of French onion soup can happen very quickly. Ideally, check every couple of minutes until the cheese is partially browned and bubbly.
The French Onion Soup is now ready to serve, but warn diners that the bowls of soup are extremely hot. You can also serve French onion soup with slices of warmed, crusty bread for dipping.
Tricks
You can use pre-made onion soup if you’re short on time. Then you just reheat, pour into bowls, layer on bread and cheese, and grill. Store-bought French toast can be purchased to avoid slicing and toasting the bread. Bouillon cubes can be used for broth, but the final product will be more salty.
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