French Onion Soup
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What does this food offer in terms of nutrients and physical nourishment?
Protein (cheese)
Carbohydrates (bread, onions, cheese)
Fat (butter/olive oil, cheese)
Fiber (onions, bread)
Other (onions contain the phytonutrient flavonoids, helpful for supporting healthy inflammation levels)
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What does this food offer in terms of mental satisfaction through flavor, texture, and experience?
Savory/umami
Rich
Salty
Sweet
Earthy
Warm/cozy
Tender
Chunky
With the weather cooling down, I’m switching gears towards making cozier, heartier dishes for dinner. Soups always make my meal prep list during fall and winter months because of how comforting and nourishing they can be.
If you’ve been following along for a while you probably already know that I love everything french onion — dips, lentils, soup, you name it! In the past, I’ve made a simpler version of this soup that was delicious and satisfying but it lacked that extra oomph of the restaurant version. After a little research, I realized that wine was the flavor I was missing! Wine, especially sherry, really makes the sweet, rich flavor of the caramelized onions sing. Adding sherry to my previous recipe changed. the. game. Not only did I feel like Ina Garten cooking with wine for the first time, but the recipe finally tasted like the classic french onion soup I was longing for.
Throw on a french music playlist, grab a glass of regular non-cooking wine, and make this soup! You will not regret it. Bon appétit!
Allergens: Gluten/wheat (optional), Dairy
Servings: 6 8 oz ramekins or 4 12 oz soup crocks
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Total time: 75 minutes
Ingredients:
Soup base:
1 quart (32 oz) beef broth
2 medium yellow onions, sliced thinly (halve them first top to bottom, trim the ends, then slice width-wise)
1/2 cup sherry wine
3 tbsp butter, unsalted
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
2 small sprigs of fresh rosemary, de-stemmed and finely chopped
4 medium fresh sage leaves, chopped chiffonade-style (here is a great tutorial video for this simple and helpful technique for chopping herbs and leafy greens)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Add ins:
~3 cups of bread of choice cut into 1 inch cubes (A baguette or boule works the best. You want a dense, heartier bread with crust so it holds up to the liquid)
Toppings:
Shaved gruyère cheese (~1/4 cup per bowl/crock)
Sliced provolone cheese (1-2 slices per bowl/crock)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300F. Spread bread cubes out onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until crunchy texture but not yet toasted brown. Remove croutons from pan and set aside (Note: you’ll use this pan again).
In a large stock pot (10 quart) melt butter over medium-high heat until it foams.
Add herbs and cook until they become aromatic (the room starts to smell like herbs!).
Next, add the onions and season with salt* and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook down for ~30 minutes, or until onions become soft and sticky but are not quite a congealed “jam”.
Add wine and allow alcohol to evaporate off for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then, add broth and bring to boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Turn broiler on high. Arrange crocks onto baking sheet and ladle in soup to fill ~1/3 way up. Add a handful of croutons and then top the rest of the crock with soup.
Layer gruyère, then provolone on top. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until top is toasty brown. Garnish with fresh thyme and enjoy!
*When salting, use care and keep in mind that the cheese adds a significant amount of salty flavor to the finished dish.
