French onion soup is probably my favorite soup to make on a cold winter night. And if you love cheese as much as I do, this recipe is right up your alley. A lot of times, French onion soups are quite salty, but I have perfected this recipe to save all of our sodium levels.
Onion preparation
The majority of the flavor in French onion soup comes from the caramelized onions. For this recipe we will be using 4 lbs of onions which is about 5-6 onions depending on size. Since we are caramelizing, they will all need to be thinly sliced. They will seem like a lot of onions when cut, but when they are cooked, it will shrink.
Making caramelized onions in French onion soup
Add onions into pot with butter and olive oil
At this stage, it will seem like a lot of onions and a trick I use to cook them faster is by increasing the heat to med-high while stirring. This will quickly cook out the moisture in the onions and cause them to shrink within 15-20 minutes.
Reduce to med-low
Once the onions have significantly shrunk, reduce to a medium low heat because they can now burn easily. They will slowly darken in color and deepen in flavor.
Add dry sherry
After the onions have been fully caramelized, they will look like this and now you can add the dry sherry. Let all the alcohol cook out and reduce.
Toasted baguette in French onion soup
The purpose for toasted baguettes is to soak up some of the soup and make it thicker. This adds texture and cuts through the richness of the soup. If you want, you can add 1 baguette slice instead of two.
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 4 lb onions (I used 4 sweet and 2 red onions)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup dry sherry
- 7 cups beef stock
- 1 bunch thyme
- 1 baguette (sliced and toasted)
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese
- 1 stalk chives (diced for garnish)
Instructions
- Peel your onions and cut them all into thin slices.4 lb onions
- In a deep pot, add butter and olive oil. Once melted, add all of the onions.1 tbsp butter, 3 tbsp olive oil
- Start at medium-high heat for 20 minutes while stirring until the onions have shrunk more than half.
- Reduce heat to medium low while they continue to shrink and darken in color. This will take about an hour total.
- Once all the onions are soft, add in the dry sherry and let this reduce until none of the liquid is left.1 cup dry sherry
- Add in your beef stock and thyme. Keep it on a simmer at medium heat for 15 min.7 cups beef stock, 1 bunch thyme
- Using a ladle, pour the soup into oven-safe bowls.
- Add toasted baguette slices, and top with a lot more cheese on top until it is piled up to the top.1 baguette, 1 cup Gruyere cheese
- Place this in your broiler setting until the cheese and melted. Top with chives and get ready for that cheese pull picture!1 stalk chives
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