French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup is my favorite soup, yet I had never made it until today. My cousin Gabrielle sent me a recipe that she liked a few months ago and I finally got around to making it. I was searching online a few nights ago and looking through a few other recipes. I thought Tyler Florence's recipe looked pretty good, but decided I'd try what my cousin sent me. After reading through that recipe I realized they were the same one, but my cousin changed a few things around in the version she sent me. So I followed both recipes and the result was delicious!

This soup takes a little over an hour to make, but it is well worth the time. I used dried thyme (1 teaspoon) in place of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme. I used vintage chili bowls with handles that my parents have and got 8 perfect servings out of one recipe. I used two lightly toasted slices of a baguette in each bowl, topped it with a slice of Provolone cheese, and put it in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the cheese was melted and a little bit golden. The only thing I would change about this soup is trying different cheeses to see which one I like best (although the Provolone was pretty good!). Some people may also prefer to cut the bread into pieces and toast them like croutons instead of using slices of bread. Any way you do it, if you like French Onion Soup, I'm sure you will love this recipe!

French Onion Soup

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

½ cup unsalted butter (or olive oil)

4 onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dry thyme

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup red wine, about ½ bottle

3 heaping Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 quarts low sodium beef broth (4 cans)

1 baguette, sliced

½ pound grated Gruyere cheese (or slices of Swiss or Provolone cheese)

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes.

Add the wine, bring to a boil and keep on high heat, stirring occasionally to make sure the onions do not burn. Cook until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour does not burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10-20 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.

Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven at 275° for 5-10 minutes to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

Makes 8 servings.

Slice 4 onions and chop 2 cloves of garlic

Cook onions & garlic with bay leaves, thyme, salt & pepper

Cook until onions are soft and caramelized, about 30 minutes

Add 1 cup red wine & cook down until onions are dry

Add 3 Tablespoons flour & cook 10 minutes

Add beef broth, cook another 10-20 minutes, then divide into bowls

Add 2 slices toasted baguette to each bowl of soup

Top each bowl with cheese (Provolone used here)

Put the bowls in the oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted

Enjoy your bowl of soup!

Photos by JoJo