French Onion Soup

What a treat from the basic soup! During a nice evening out with a few of my girlfriends for some birthday celebrations a couple of weeks ago, French onion soup had been ordered. Ever since then, I’ve had a massive craving for the stuff. While at the dollar store last week, I picked up a couple of oven safe French onion soup bowls {$1 each!} so that I could make some. It’s a bit of a long process from start to finish, but it’s totally worth it! Most recipes call for the use of Swiss cheese, however I found that grated marble cheese worked perfectly. It even gets a nice texture once it’s been melted and browned under the broiler. Toasting the bread before inserting it into the soup ensures that the bread doesn’t taste like mush. I highly recommend using actual French bread as opposed to bagged bread. Some recipes also call for using wine, but you can substitute for any flavoured vinegar. I used red wine vinegar for this recipe, and it turned out amazing. This recipe serves 2. Enjoy! 🙂

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 large, or 4 small, slices of French bread
• About 1 cup grated marble cheese
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 cups beef broth
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil (2 tbsp for the pan, 1 tbsp for bread)
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp sugar

Method:

• Slice the onion in half from top to bottom (from the root tip to the stem) Place one half cut side down on a cutting board, and cut the tip of the stem off of the onion. Peel off the skin, and slice the onion into very thin slices. Do the same with the other half.
• Heat the 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tsp butter in a pan over medium heat.
• Add the onions once the butter has melted, and cook the onions for about 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until floppy and lightly golden.
• Sprinkle the onions with the sugar and salt. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are a light shade of brown. Keep the heat at just under medium so you do not burn the onions. Burnt onions will result in a very bitter soup.
• While the onions are cooking, place the beef broth in a pot and simmer over low heat until the onions are ready.
• Once the onions are lightly browned, add the flour and cook (stirring constantly) for 1 minute.
• Pour the onions into the beef broth. Add the red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste, stir and bring to a boil. Stir, while boiling, for 2 minutes.
• Reduce heat to just under medium, and allow to simmer while covered for 30 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes.
• 5 minutes before the soup is done, set the oven to broil on high. Lightly brush each piece of bread with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, and place under the broiler until lightly toasted. Set the toast aside.
• When the 30 minutes is up, while still on the heat, add about 1/4 cup grated cheese to the soup and stir until combined.
• Pour the soup into 2 French onion soup bowls (oven safe, sort of shallow, and has a handle) until the bowl is just over half full.
• Break the toast into smaller pieces, and place on top of the soup, pressing down lightly. Don’t allow the bread to be completely covered, just about half way submerged in the soup.
• Sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup of grated cheese over each of the bowls, and cook under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and turning brown.
• Serve immediately.
• Note: Careful when removing from the oven and serving. Because you eat the soup out of the same bowl that goes into the oven, you may want to serve this on a heat-resistant place mat. Don’t touch the bowl right away.

French Onion Soup