French onion soup can easily be enjoyed at home with just a few pantry staples. Its relatively easy to throw together yet its rich flavours will make you think a French chef spent hours making it for you.
Ingredients
- Onions, obviously.
- Garlic
- Butter - This is french after all
- Flour
- Red Wine
- Beef Stock (Can sub any type of stock)
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Bay Leaf
- Thyme
- Salt and Pepper
- Bread, Diced
- Cheese (Mozzarella, Gruyere or Comte)
The Gist of It
- Caramelize the onions and garlic with the butter
- Add in the Flour
- Deglaze the pan with the wine
- Add in the soup stock
- Add the seasonings
- Simmer
- Bread Bread
- Assemble Bowls
- Bake
- Enjoy!
FAQ about making French Onion Soup
The big thing here is to use a bowl that is safe to go in the oven. (Read the bottom of your bowl.) The Handles make grabbing the bowls easier, but are not necessary!
Sure, they will add a lot more flavours and might over power things but it could work out ok. The soup will rehydrate the croutons as it bakes.
If you have red or white wine vinegar use ¼ cup of that. If you do not try another light vinegar such as apple cider.
Because I am a food lover first and a cook second. I cook in a way that will yield the best eating experience. I find the whole slice of bread to be annoying to eat around but little toasted cubes to be the perfect spoonful. You can do whatever suits your fancy, its your kitchen 🙂
This recipe is adapted from the great Julia Child's Version. You can read her original recipe here.
📖Recipe
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 5 Large Onions About 2 Pounds
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 4 Cloves Garlic Minced
- ½ Cup Red Wine
- 2 900ml Beef Stock Carton
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 Teaspoon Salt or more to taste
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper or more to taste
Topping
- 2 Cups Bread cut into 1" Cubes
- 1 Cup Mozzarella Shredded Or Gruyere or Comte
Instructions
Prep
- I will say this is easy peasy with a food processor. If you don't have a food processor You can put the onions in the fridge for 30 minutes before cutting. this allegedly helps mitigate the tears. Food Processor or Cutting Board and Knife, the goal is the same: Thinly slice the onions.
The Soup
- This soup is best made in a Dutch oven. Melt the butter and sauté the onions until browned. This takes about 30 minutes to do. You will want to keep the heat on low - medium while doing this to avoid burning the onions. Be sure to continuously stir. I find a rubber spatula or wooden spoon does a great job here. Add the minced garlic towards the end of the caramelizing process.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir to combine.
- Now you will add the red wine, this helps to deglaze the pan. This means you are using the liquid to steam off the brown bits that formed on the bottom of the pan during the caramelization. You want those brown bits - they are flavour bombs!
- Now add in the stock and seasonings. Simmer. I like to simmer for about 10 minutes or as long as it takes me to toast the bread crumbs and grate the cheese 🙂
- Cut the bread into 1" cubes. Place on a a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 400°F for 6-8 minutes. Leave the oven on after you make your bread crumbs! You will be putting the soup into it soon. While the cubes are toasting, grate the cheese, please.
- Divide the soup into four large oven safe bowls. Top with bread crumbs and Cheese. Bake in the 400°F oven for 10 minutes.(cheese should be browned and the soup bubbling once its ready!
