If I could choose one final meal on earth, it just might be French Onion Soup. Forget pizza or cupcakes. To me, there is nothing more savory and comforting then a bowl of this hearty soup. I am not sure what part of it I like best: the warm and rich flavor of onions in broth or the soggy bread covered in melted cheese. (Okay, well, maybe it is the latter by a margin!)
Two things amaze me about French Onion Soup: 1) the simple ingredient list and 2) the time it takes to make this presumably simple soup. In order to give this soup the rich taste that its known for, onions should be carmelized for 30-45 minutes before going in the slow cooker for at least four hours. Perfection takes time, people!
I made this recipe on a lazy fall weekend when the chill in the air began to creep through our windows. I started first thing in the morning before the kids woke up, so that we could enjoy a bowl for lunch. Best. Lunch. Ever.
Since I was going to have to wait five hours before I could eat this meal, I used ingredients that made it worth it, you know? I bought some nice Gruyere cheese and shredded it to top my soup bowls.
I don’t know how I was able to take some of these photos. I wish you could have walked into my house and smelled what I could smell. It was divine. At this point, I was sooooo close to digging into my soup!
One piece of advice on the French baguette slices: briefly toast them before covering them with cheese and broiling. Be careful, however, because the bread will toast fast on broil! I lost about five slices by waiting too long to pull them from the oven.
Seriously. This below photo says it all. Not very pretty, but perfection for my taste buds.
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 large yellow onions, sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup red wine
- 8 cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 8-10 slices of French bread, cut into 1 inch thick slices
- ¾ cup shredded Gruyere cheese
- Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a large pot. Add onions. Stir onions until they become translucent, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle onions with salt and sugar; reduce heat to medium. Continue to stir onions for 30-40 minutes, until they begin to carmelize. You may want to add a small amount of water or oil if they are sticking to the pan too much.
- Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the red wine and scrape the small bits of browned food from the pot. Transfer onions into a slow cooker and pour in beef broth. Stir in thyme and bay leaf.
- Cook on High for 4 to 6 hours (or Low for 8-10 hours).
- About 10 minutes before serving, preheat the oven's broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet. Broil bread slices until toasted, 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Watch them closely or they will burn!
- Fill oven-safe bowls ¾ full of onion soup and float a bread slice in each bowl. Top with cheese.
- Place filled bowls onto a baking sheet and broil until cheese is lightly browned and bubbling, about 1-2 minutes.
- Enjoy!