French Onion Soup

At Michael's request, I made a big batch of French onion soup to get us through this dreary, rainy week.  It's amazing just how comforting a pot full of onions can be.  Word of warning - though it tastes amazing, this soup will have you crying like a baby...  there's just no way around it when slicing 6 onions in a row!  But I think you'll agree that the warmth and richness of this delicious soup is worth a few tears.

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

- 1 stick butter (yep, I even broke down and used the real stuff!)

- 4 to 6 yellow onions (depending on size), thinly sliced

- 1 cup dry white wine

- 4 cups chicken stock
- 4 cups beef stock
- 2 T. minced garlic
- 1 T. Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 t. dried thyme
- 1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

- french bread, or other crusty bread, thickly sliced

- about 1 c. grated Gruyere cheese (alternatives:  mozarella, swiss, provolone, etc.)



Directions:   (adapted from this recipe by Ree Drummond)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Slice the onions and get in a good cry. Melt butter in an oven-safe heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.

 

just looking at it makes me tear up!





2.  Place the soup directly into the oven with the lid slightly ajar to ensure the onions will brown. Allow onions to cook in the oven for 1 hour, stirring at least once during the cooking process so onions won’t stick and burn.

half way through cooking



3.  Remove pot from oven and place back on stovetop over medium heat.  Stir, scraping off all the brown, flavorful bits.  Turn off heat and pour in wine.

 yep, that's a purse-shaped box of wine...

with a spout...

don't be jealous, it was a birthday gift.

4.  Turn heat back to medium. Cook wine for five minutes, allowing it to reduce. Add broths, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, and spices and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.



5.  Meanwhile, slice the bread into fairly thick slices, place on a baking sheet, and broil over low heat for about 5 minutes per side, until nice and crispy.  ( I cut my slices in half so that they would fit into the soup bowls.)  This is also a good time to grate the cheese.



6.  When soup is ready, remove the bay leaf, then ladle into oven-safe bowl or ramekin. Place crispy bread on top, and then sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. (If you're like me up until about a week ago, and don't have oven-safe soup bowls, ladle soup into regular bowls and allow cheese to melt on it's own or in the microwave for about 30 seconds.)

fill about 3/4 full, then add bread

top with cheese

broil until lightly browned and bubbly

we served it with a pastrami and rye sandwich

& later I added a pickle spear

b/c that's what you serve with soup and pastrami

printable recipe

Hope you enjoy this delicious recipe that's worth the tears!

Happy Friday!!

Love,

Mama