French Onion Soup
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
It has been until the last couple of years that I’ve come to appreciate French Onion Soup. Either too salty, too acidic, or not enough onions. The list was long. After lots of renditions, I think I’ve finally found a balance between the onion reduction and using chicken and beef broth balance that makes it all come together
Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter, cut in ½" pieces
6 large yellow onions, sliced ¼ inch thick
2 sprigs thyme leaves, fresh
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 qt. chicken stock
1 qt. beef stock
1 baguette, cut in ½" pieces
2 cups Gruyère cheese, shredded
Instructions
Heat a large Dutch Oven over medium heat.
Add the butter and melt until it begins to sizzle.
Add the onions, thyme, salt and butter.
Cover and cook, stirring occassionally until the onion are translucent and have cooked down to around half their original volume, approx 20 minutes.
Uncover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the onions begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, approx 30 minutes.
Making sure to use a wooden spoon to scrape up browning bits and adding splashes of water to deglaze the pan and continue to cook until the onions are jammy and a deep brown, approx. 40 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 400°.
Stir in the balsamic vinegar into the oniom mixture. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stirring often, cook until the balsamic vinegar has been absorbed into the onions, approximatly 5 minutes.
Remove the thye sprigs. Dust the onions with the all-purpose flour, continue to cook, stirring constantly, approximately 7 minutes.
Adding a splash of water at a time, to deglaze the last of the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the chicken and beef stocks and bring a rumbling simmer, over medium-high heat.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally to allow the flavors to meld, approximately 10 minutes.
Remove pan from the heat. Divide the soup into 6 ovenproof bowls and place them on a rimmed sheetpan.
Top each bowl with a baguette slice and 1/3 cup of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted.
Tags
Main
