I have been loving soup lately. Every time I go out to lunch, I go right for the soup. Yesterday, it was Cream of Broccoli in a sourdough bread bowl. Last week it was Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice. Today, I wanted to sharpen my knife skills ( I can’t chop, slice or dice), so I opted to make a French Onion Soup, what better practice than slicing 5 large onions! I have to admit, I worked the knife pretty well…helps when you are using a super awesome new Wusthof knives your kids bought you for Christmas!
After slicing the onions, I worked on caramelizing them….this process can take up to 30 minutes when done right. I wanted to cook them slow to pull out as much flavor as possible. I used my dutch oven and let the crispy stuff build up (yum). In addition to onions, I added shallots and garlic. My family kept commenting on amazing the smell was….
Once the onions were caramelized, I added about 1 cup of red wine, rosemary and lemon thyme, and reduced until almost gone. I added 4 cups of beef broth and 2 cups chicken broth and brought back to a boil, reduced the heat to simmer for 20 minutes….salt and pepper to taste.
While simmering, I grated the Gruyere cheese and sliced the french baguette. Using a ladle, I filled an oven-proof bowl, topped with bread and cheese and baked for 15 minutes until cheese was melted.
Time consuming, but easy…the wine added a nice layer of flavor!
- 4-5 lbs of sweet onions - sliced
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 shallots - chopped
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 pinch dried lemon thyme
- 1 pinch dried rosemary
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 cups chicken broth
- salt and peper
- 4-6 oz shredded Hickory Smoked Gruyere Cheese
- ½ loaf French Baguette (about 6 slices)
- Melt butter in large dutch oven on stovetop. Add sliced onions, garlic and shallots, cook until caramelized, stirring every 5 minutes. Takes about 30 minutes. Slowly add red wine, cook until reduced (5 minutes). Add thyme and rosemary. Add broth and bring back to boil, scraping the bottom and sides to loosen up any brown build up (the best!).
- Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Ladle into bowl, top with bread, then cheese and bake for 15 min until cheese is melted.
