The origin of French Onion Soup is highly debated but one thing is for sure, the recipe has stood the test of time with little variations. This soup is quite inexpensive to make so you can splurge on some good quality cheese. It takes some time to prepare but you’ll be rewarded with amazing flavour.
Most versions of the history of French Onion Soup involve a near empty pantry and some stale bread. One claim is that French Onion Soup cures a hangover. I’m not sure if that’s true or not but it might make you cry. Literally. So if you’re having a tough day, slicing onions and slowly caramelizing them is very therapeutic, as is a good cry if you ask me.
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How to make French Onion Soup
That slow process of cooking the onions until they get a rich golden colour is essential to the flavour of French Onion Soup. You can slice the onions into thin rings but they end up fairly broken down anyway. A safe option is to slice the onion in half, then lay it cut side down and slice into thin half circles. I usually do some of both. You’ll think you have way more onion than you need but trust me, they reduce to a very small amount.
Getting the onions to the perfect golden caramelization can take hours. If you try to speed up the process by turning up the heat, you risk burning the onions and ruining the flavour. A little trick that helps is to toss the onions in the melted butter over very low heat, then put the lid on the pot. Let them cook down for about 40-45 minutes or so, checking and stirring every 10 minutes. They’ll be softened and reduced by about half and you want most of the liquid to have evaporated.
Remove the lid and continue to cook the onions, stirring carefully every 10 minutes or so, more often when they start getting really brown. Take your time. Adding a little sugar when they’re almost ready helps lock in that caramelization. You’ll be rewarded for your hard work with these amazing coloured onions in about 45 – 60 minutes.
Most French Onion Soup recipes have dry sherry. But how many of you have some in your cupboard? So white wine is a great option. Or, dry Vermouth. You don’t need much, otherwise it will overpower the broth. Turn the heat up when you add the wine or vermouth to cook off the alcohol so you’re left with just the flavour. Then add chicken broth, a bay leaf and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Scrape down the sides of the pot to incorporate those brown bits into the broth. Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Depending on the sodium level of your butter and broth, the amount of salt you need will vary. Always taste as you go, adding more later if you want. And white pepper! I like the earthy flavour it adds, but you can use regular black pepper as well.
Let your soup simmer away while you prepare the bread and cheese. Personally, I don’t like too much bread or globs of cheese. Since you’ve spent so much time getting perfectly caramelized onions, you don’t want to overpower the soup. Too much bread will soak up too much of the broth. And too much cheese, even though that sounds like a good thing, isn’t necessarily so. I prefer to go with quality over quantity. Choose an aged cheese with good flavour that will melt easily. Popular choices are Swiss, Gruyere or Emmental.
Stale baguette slices are perfect for topping French Onion Soup. Even better, if you’ve made NYT No Knead Bread, it’s the BEST way to use up the last of the loaf. Give the bread a good toasting in the oven or even the toaster, then rub with a freshly peeled garlic clove. Kind of like colouring. If you haven’t tried this, you’ll be surprised how well it works. It just adds a hint of flavour. Fill oven safe bowls almost to the top with the soup, then add a few pieces of bread.
Slice your chosen cheese into thin slices. Cover the bread with the cheese, overlapping as necessary to have the entire top of the bowl covered. Allow some of the cheese to fall over the edge of the bowl for that signature melty cheese drip.
Roast the individual soups in a hot oven for about 10-15 minutes on convection roast. This way the heat comes from the top and the cheese melts gently. You want the top to be bubbling and slightly browned. If you don’t have a convection roast setting you can bake them and quickly broil them at the end. Just watch them carefully so they don’t get too brown.
You’ll want to dig right in but you’ll burn your mouth on that hot melty cheese. It’s like molten lava. Be patient, in about 10 minutes your French Onion Soup will be ready to eat.
You can prepare the components of the soup in advance and put it together at the last minute. Super easy! And this soup is easily adaptable to the number of servings so you can use the ratio of about 1 large onion and 1 1/2 cups of broth per person for the right balance.
If you make French Onion Soup, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 4 yellow onions
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ¼ tsp sugar
- ¼ cup white wine or dry vermouth or dry sherry
- 6 cups chicken broth homemade if possible
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme or a pinch of dried
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 slices baguette stale is fine
- 1 clove garlic
- 4-6 oz thinly sliced Swiss, Emmental or Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Remove outer skin from onions, slice in half and slice very thinly into half circles. Or slice carefully into rings.
- Melt butter in a large stock pot over low heat and add onions. Toss to coat, put lid on pot and cook, checking every 10 minutes for 40-45 minutes until onions are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring frequently until onions turn golden brown and begin to caramelize, being careful not to let them burn. About 45 to 60 minutes. Sprinkle sugar over onions toward end of this cooking stage to optimize caramelization.
- Add white wine and cook over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring up the brown bits. Add chicken broth, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes on low.
- Meanwhile, arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet. Toast in oven or in toaster until lightly browned. Remove from oven and rub garlic briskly over each piece while still warm. Slice cheese into wide thin pieces.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees on convection roast setting so heat is coming from the top.
- Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs from soup and ladle into 4 oven safe bowls. Top with two toasted baguette slices, pressing gently into the broth. Top with sliced cheese, arranging so top is covered and some hangs over the bowl edge.
- Roast for about 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling on top. Use broiler at the end if necessary to slightly brown the cheese.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving.