French Onion Soup
Serves 4
One of our favorite late fall and winter time meals is our French onion soup. Our recipe is based on Julia Child's classic French onion soup, although as we often do, we have modified it to suit our tastes.
Let me start by saying we try to use our own homemade beef stock which is often in whole or partially created when we make pot roasts. Hence, it's not a consistent flavor, especially with respect to salt and pepper. When used in our French onion soup we taste the soup at various stages and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
In our opinion the cheese is the most critical part of the overall flavor of the French onion soup.
When necessary we augment our homemade beef stock with a beef stock made by our butcher.
Our French soup bowls allow for 10 oz of soup and we usually end up with enough soup for 2 meals (2 bowls each, if we don't have anything else with it).
This soup always tastes better after being in the refrigerator for a couple of days and although we have planned to make it and not eat it the same evening, it has never actually happened.
For leftovers, as a satisfying lunch, it might be noted that Loraine and I like this soup served without any of the bread or cheese in a large soup cup. Slurping the sweet onions in a fantastic broth!
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp. peanut oil
- 8 cups sweet onions, sliced
- 1 tbsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 8 cups beef stock, simmering
- Bovril beef bouillon concentrate
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- French bread
- 4 cups Von Mühlenen Gruyère cheese, grated
Directions
- Place the butter and oil in a large soup kettle and add the onions. Cover with a lid and sauté on medium/low heat for about 30 minutes, mixing occasionally, until the onions are very soft.
- Remove the lid and add the salt and sugar. Cook the onions until they become a golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes, mixing often.
- Add the flour and cook for 3 minutes, stir almost continuously, do not allow the flour to burn.
- Skim the simmering beef stock if necessary. Then pour the stock into the soup kettle with the onions. Mix.
- Taste the soup and if your beef stock needs some depth add some Bovril beef bouillon concentrate.
- Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
- Add the bay leaves.
- Partially cover and low simmer for at least 60 minutes. Mix occasionally.
- Prior to serving remove the bay leaves.
- To serve, heat the soup and then ladle it into bowls, top with a piece of French bread, trimmed to fit the bowl (we don't toast our bread when we use it in the French onion soup).
- Cover with about 1/2 cup of the grated Gruyère cheese.
- Place the bowls on a baking sheet (to avoid having soup all over the bottom of the oven) and place under the oven broiler for about 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.