So, I love French Onion Soup. Like really, really love it. But, I never get to eat it.
See, my favorite restaurant that made my favorite French Onion Soup went out of business, and in Louisiana, the soups in restaurants trend toward seafood bisques, gumbo, potato, ham bean, or the occasional tomato basil. So I know what you are thinking: Why don’t you make it yourself, weirdo?
Well, as you know, I live with some of the pickiest damn eaters on the planet and not one can tolerate even the thought of a soup based on deliciously decadent caramelized onions. Even trying to sell them on the cheesy toast aspect failed miserably. So, I just never bothered to make it, because I’m not going to make two dinners just so I can have some freaking soup.
But earlier last month, the husband was out of town, and I decided f—-it. I ordered pizza for the Heathens and made myself some dang French Onion Soup (and sent the rest to my neighbors, so they could bask in the awesomeness as well). I adapted a recipe I found online, tweaked it, and the result was rich, gooey, cheesy, brothy, warmth to my semi-bitter soul.
This recipe is easy-peasy, but you really need to take the time to caramelize the onions over low to medium-low heat (depends on your stovetop). This can take like 30-45 minutes, but that’s what gives the soup the depth of flavor you want.
Notes
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 6 cups thinly sliced sweet onions (basic yellow or Vidalia)
- 1 TBS all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup dry sherry (like from your local liquor store, not that "cooking wine" crap found on the vinegar aisle)
- 5 cups beef broth
- 6 springs fresh thyme, tied into a bundle with food-safe kitchen twine.
- 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
- 12-16 1/4-inch thick baguette slices (basically you want enough bread slices to cover the top of your soup bowls)
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Olive oil spray, non stick spray, or other method to toast your bread
- In a Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions and a 1 TBS of water, and season them with about 1/2 tsp. of salt. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally until they caramelize, about 30-45 minutes. If the onions cook too fast, lower the heat so they don't burn.
- Add the flour and stir to coat the onions. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the sherry. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, then add the beef broth and thyme bundle. Bring to a low simmer, and cook 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the soup is cooking, spray your baguette slices on both sides with olive oil spray and season with a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper. Toast the slices on both sides in a skillet over medium high heat.
- Preheat your broiler. Place your 4 soup bowls on a rimmed baking sheet. Remove the thyme bundle from the soup carefully, and test the soup for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if desired.
- Ladle the soup into the bowls, and arrange toasted baguette slices on top for full coverage. Sprinkle cheese evenly over each bowl (about 1/2 cup per bowl).
- Broil the soup until the cheese is brown and bubbly to your liking. Enjoy!
Just 10 minutes of high pressure later, and dinner is served:
I survived Thanksgiving week, which ended up being a relaxed, fun holiday despite the fact that I made more food than any reasonable person should. We ate leftovers for days, and I cranked out 4 big casseroles for the freezer with the remaining turkey. For the holiday, my sister brought a Honey-Baked Ham, and afterward, we froze the ham bone (that still had a good chunk of meat on it) for later use.
Then, I added 8 cups of chicken stock. I did not add salt because the ham itself is pretty dang salty, and the seasoning packet to be added later also contains salt. I put the lid on, and set it to Manual for 50 minutes on high pressure (note–with that much liquid in the pot, it takes about 20 minutes to come to pressure, so plan accordingly). Once it beeped, I did the quick pressure release, and removed the ham bone. I carefully removed as much meat from the bone as possible, then returned the meat to the pot while discarding the bone. I then added a minced onion, three cloves of minced garlic, a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, the juice of a lemon, and the seasoning packet:
The original recipe calls for sausage and sautéing the onion and garlic. While you can do this with sausage, ham hocks, or generally any smoked meat, I think the Instant Pot negates the need for unnecessary sautéing steps. Overall, we used up every last scrap of ham, which is a good thing because Honey-Baked Hams are not cheap…which is probably why they are so dang tasty. If you want to stretch this, you can also serve it over rice, but I like it as is and my scale could not justify any more calories…like at all…ever. If you need me, I’ll be at the gym.