French Onion Soup
Amazing French onion soup is the sum of it’s parts. Each of the parts is good – the rich, caramelized onion soup, the nutty Gruyere cheese, properly toasted baguette slices, and a crispy and gooey caramelized crust. Added together they reach a glorious level of full flavored melody.
French Onion Soup
Category
Soup
Appetizer
Servings/Yield
2 qts – 6-8 portions
Author
Helen Park
Amazing French onion soup is the sum of it’s parts. Each of the parts is good – the rich, caramelized onion soup, the nutty Gruyere cheese, properly toasted baguette slices, and a crispy and gooey caramelized crust. Added together they reach a glorious level of full flavored melody.
Ingredients
-
1 cup olive oil
2 pounds Spanish onion, peeled and sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
-
1 Tbsp fine sea salt
4 Tbsp butter
2 cup full bodied red wine, divided
-
2 bay leaves
-
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 pound gruyere cheese, grated or thinly sliced
-
1 1/2 qts good quality homemade beef stock
OR
1 1/2 qts store-bought beef stock + 3 packets of gelatin powder
*see recipe notes below on how to fortify stock-
More salt and pepper to taste
16 slices baguette, ½” thick
Directions
In a large, heavy bottom pot, heat ½ cup of olive oil, sliced onion, garlic, and salt over medium heat and cook covered, stirring occasionally.
As the onions cook and release their moisture, lower the heat to a gentle simmer to caramelize the onions.
As the liquid cooks away and the onions are moderately caramelized, add the butter and continue caramelizing uncovered until completely caramelized.
Add one cup of the red wine and reduce while scraping the pot with a wooden spoon to get all of the browned bits off of the pan and into the soup. In a separate pan, reduce the remaining cup of wine by half.
To the onion pot, add the stock, bay leaves, and black pepper, bring to boil, and simmer for 1 hour or until the soup with fully flavored with rich caramelized onions.
Add the reduced red wine to the soup and season with more salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat the oven to 480°F.
Brush the baguette slices with olive oil, both sides and edge to edge, and arrange them onto a parchment lined tray.
Fully coating the slices and toasting quickly at a high heat results in crispy bread that still has tender bread on the inside. As this bread soaks up soup and supports the cheese, it will maintain crispy edges and toasted flavor instead of being just soggy, stale bread.
Once the soup is ready, turn the oven to broil and set the oven rack so that the top of the soup bowl is 3-4” away from the top of the soup bowls.
When ready, portion 1-1 ½ cups of soup into heat safe bowls with 2 toasted bread slices each and onto a sturdy baking tray.
Top each bowl of soup with the sliced cheese and place under the broiler for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted through and caramelized on the edges.
For a bread free version
Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat and arrange slices of gruyere cheese, slightly wider than the opening of the soup bowl. Allow the cheese to melt and caramelize in the pan.
When the cheese is a melted through and golden brown, use a heatproof spatula and carefully slide the cheese portion onto the top of the hot bowl of soup.
Recipe Note
Recipe Notes
* If you do not have strong quality homemade stock, you can use the best store-bought chicken stock you can find and bring it to a boil on the stove. Whisk in gelatin powder to dissolve completely. If your homemade stock doesn’t quite look like jello when chilled, you can also add a few packets of powdered gelatin the same way to fortify the stock. The strength of the stock contributes to the flavor and body of the finished soup.
For the thinly sliced gruyere, you could use shredded gruyere or full sandwich style slices also. I prefer the thin slices as they melt more evenly and balance on top of the soup easily. If you like a gooey-er cheese topping, you could do a mix of grated gruyere and mozzarella or a slice of each on top of the bowl.
When slicing the onion, they will cook more evenly if sliced thinly from top to bottom as opposed to rings. I like a mandoline to make quick work of the slicing – I also recommend using a glove to protect your slicing hand.
Questions? Contact helen@laboiteny.com
