French Onion Soup
Description
Truly a perfect recipe from Smitten Kitchen and absolutely a new family favorite. My only contribution was to use half bone broth and half beef broth and then I borrowed from an idea I saw ‘somewhere’ and chopped up the bread, toasted it, and then shaped it into bowl-sized piles before covering it in shredded gruyere and baking until golden. This removes the need for legit French Onion Soup Crocks, and, makes it much easier to get a perfect spoonful to your mouth without frustration or mess – enjoy!
Ingredients
3 lbs. yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 T. butter AND 2 t. fine sea salt
1/4 c. dry sherry (or vermouth, or white wine)
1 bay leaf or a few sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)
2 L. good broth – I used half bone broth and half beef broth
many grindings of black pepper
For the bread topping;
1, 1-inch thick slice of hearty bread for each bowl – OR – cubed sourdough bread, toasted in the oven until dried into croutons and then formed into bowl-sized piles for each serving bowl
1/4 c. + grated gruyere, comte, emmentaler (or a mix), for each slice of bread or crouton pile
Instructions
Melt the butter in the bottom of a large, heavy bottomed pot (though I’ve also used my large non-stick skillet) over medium heat, add in all of the onions, toss well to coat and cover the pot. Reduce the heat a titch to medium-low and leave the onions to gently steep for 15 minutes.
Uncover the pot after the 15 and stir in the salt – the onions now need to cook until caramelized which could be anywhere from 40 to 90 minutes, depending on your stove. Make sure to stir regularly, and they shouldn’t be too brown before the 40 minutes is up. Adjust the heat as necessary but you want to end up with onions that are an even, deep golden brown without any crunchy bits.
When the onions are ready (these could be done earlier in the day or even a day or 2 ahead if refrigerated before you need them), make the soup! – start by adding in the sherry and make sure to scrape up any onion that has stuck to the pot. Add in all of the broth, the herbs (if using) and the pepper – I use at least a teaspoon. Leave all to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes and then taste for seasonings and adjust as you wish.
While the soup is finishing, finish up your bread topper either by baking or broiling the bread slices covered in cheese or the cheese covered crouton mounds. Serve the bowls of hot soup topped as you wish or fill crocks (on a baking sheet), top with your bread and cheese of choice and broil for a couple of minutes before serving.
