The Best French Onion Soup I've Ever Made- Or Had?

(#10) Master 25 New Recipes

1. Stuffed Peppers
2. Risotto
3. Polenta
4. Beef Brisket
5. French Onion Soup

French onion soup is one of my favorite foods. As a hopeless food lover, this is not something I say lightly. I first had it when I was working at Applebee’s, and many French onion soups later I still love the Applebee’s version. This dish actually opened my eyes to the delightful world of the caramelized onion, who I had shamefully shied away from due to my hatred of its close cousin, raw onion. So of course in gratitude I had to learn to cook it for myself.

This was my second attempt at making French onion soup, and I know I’ll probably play around with it a little more. But it turned out so delicious that I wanted to share this recipe with you all.

Cook time: about 3 hours (but worth it)

Ingredients:
4-6 medium-sized onions (I don’t know a lot about onion types- mine were white, and were labeled “sweet” at the farmer’s market. I also happened to have a shallot bulb in the fridge, so I threw that in as well)
About 3 32-oz containers beef stock (depending on how thick you want it)
1 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup flour
½ cup butter
Olive oil
Worcestershire sauce
Thyme
Rosemary

For the garnish:
Crusty bread (like a French baguette)
Cheese of your choice- I used Swiss, mozzarella, and a little shredded Parmesan

1.  Cut the onion in half through the ends first, then quarter them through the fat middle part. Then slice them thin slices- about 1/8 inch. Consistency is more important than thinness, but get them as thin as you reasonably can.

2. Melt the butter on low heat in a large pot- I used my Dutch oven which I use for everything and highly recommend everyone purchasing. I did a combination of butter and oil to cut down on the butter. Add the sliced onions and mix to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Let the onions cook on low-medium, stirring occasionally, for at least 45 minutes. I left them for about an hour and 15 minutes, but it all depends on the size of the pan and the thickness of your slices. You will basically end up with delicious onion mush. I like to add Worcestershire every now and then as they’re cooking, more for color than anything. If they start to burn or stick, you can add a splash of stock or wine to deglaze.

4. After the onions are cooked through, add about 1/3 cup of flour to make a roux. If it doesn’t look like there is enough moisture to dissolve the flour, you can add some more butter or some stock. Add the flour slowly, stirring constantly, and stop when the onions are coated and start forming almost a paste. Add the rosemary and thyme to taste- I was very generous with the thyme and I think the flavor of it really complimented the onions.

5. Add the wine and cook for a minute or so to get rid of some of the alcohol taste, then add the stock. You can add as much or little liquid as you like depending on how you like your soup. I added about 10 cups.

6. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer. It should simmer for at least another hour, and the longer it cooks the better it will be.

How the soup looked after about an hour. You can see where it has reduced and thickened.

7. For the garnish, I highly recommended purchasing some inexpensive oven-safe bowls. Pour the soup into the bowls. Cut the bread into bite-sized pieces and cover the soup with them. Then add the cheese and melt under the broiler for about 10 minutes, watching it closely.

8. If you do not have oven-safe bowls, cut the bread into slices, top with cheese, and melt under the broiler on a piece of foil. Then put that on top of the bowl of soup.