French Onion Soup

A classic Soup.

I absolutely love French Onion Soup. For my recipe I found this fabulous Cheese. It is a Cheddar Gruyere with Herbs De Provence. It seems like it was meant for this Soup. It melts well and is smooth. The flavor profile is perfect with French Onion Soup.

I cook my Onions low and slow in Butter for this recipe. I think if you rush the cooking process to get the Onions soft, it strips them of some of the flavor. So take your time. I have heard of some people trying to put the Onions in a slow cooker overnight. I haven’t tried that process but it seems like that would be too long of a cook time. I just usually put them on the stove top in a Dutch oven, and check on them every 15 minutes or so. It takes about 2 hours to get them to the point, just before caramelizing them. It is so worth the wait!

FRENCH ONION SOUP

Ingredients:

• 6 Large Yellow Onions, peeled, cut in half then thinly sliced (yield about 10 cups)
• 48 Ounces Good Quality Low Sodium Beef Broth (I used Happy Belly brand it has quality mirepoix ingredients)
• 3/4 Cup Chardonnay (I used Kendall Jackson)
• 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme plus more for garnish
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste Concentrate
• 2 Teaspoons Beef -Better Than Bouillon
• 1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 6 Baguette Slices
• 2 (8 oz.) Packages Wood River Creamery Cheddar Gruyere w/Herbs De Provence (if you can’t find this, just use Gruyere)
• 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Place the Sliced Onions and Butter into a Dutch oven over low heat. Do not cover. Cook, stirring occasionally for 1 & 1/2 to 2 hours. The Onions will reduce down by about half.

2. Increase the heat to medium/low and cook and stir the Onions until they begin to caramelize. You don’t want them to burn so stir frequently and scrape the sides and bottom of pan to get any brown bits that will enhance their flavor.

3. Continue the caramelization process until all the Onions are nicely caramelized. This can take 20-40 minutes.

4. Add the Wine to the pot to help deglaze the bottom and sides. Those nice golden, buttery, brown bits will give the Soup a lot of flavor. Stir and scrape the sides and bottom.

5. Once the pan is deglazed, stir in the Beef Broth. Next, stir in the Better Than Bouillon, Pepper, and the Tomato Paste Concentrate. Add in the Bay Leaves and Thyme. Increase the heat to medium/high and cook until the Soup just begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 45 additional minutes, stirring occasionally, to marry all the flavors.

6. Just before the Soup is done, preheat the oven to 400 Degrees.

7. Lightly brush both sides of each Baguette slice with the Olive Oil. Place them on a sheet pan and toast them in the oven, about 3 minutes per side.

8. Slice the Cheese block from the short end. Place abut 4-5 Cheese strips evenly on one side of each Slice. Place the sheet pan back in the oven and watch closely for the Cheese to get melted and just slightly golden on the edges.

9. While the Cheese is melting on the Baguette Slices, remove the Bay leaves and Thyme Sprigs from the Soup and ladle the Soup into 6 French Onion Soup Crocks. Usually a 20 or 24 ounce crock is suitable to get six servings.

10. Now take the Baguettes with the melted Cheese on top and carefully place one, Cheese side up, on top of the Soup in each crock. To garnish, remove Thyme from the stems and sprinkle a little on top. Serve immediately.

Recipe by: Hot Dish Homemaker