Winter Storm Fern has moved on, but it is still very cold in the Carolinas. Sunday afternoon I made soup stock from aging vegetables in my produce bin and used that stock to make my favorite cold weather comfort food – French Onion Soup.
I learned how to make this delicious soup from watching Julia Child in The French Chef when I was in my early teens. Unlike Julia, I don’t use beef stock – I now use Better than Bouillion No Beef Base to give it that meaty flavor that can fool a carnivore. Want to know how? Read on!
Over the years, I’ve learned three things about making French Onion Soup:
- It takes much longer to cook down your onions to a golden brown than you think.
- Using a mixture of yellow onions and red onions gives the finished soup a natural sweetness and deeper flavor.
- Making your own stock – and enhancing it with a judicious amount of Better than Bouillon No Beef Base, will make your soup a dead ringer for a French Onion Soup made with beef stock.
First things first.
You’ll need almost 90 minutes to fully cook your onions. I know this sounds like an eternity, but your homemade stock made with the dregs of your produce bin can be happily simmering away while you cook your onions. (Why pay $2-3 for a 12 ounce carton of store bought stock when it is so easy to make your own from onions, aging potatoes, carrots, celery, and whatever else you happen to have in your produce bin?)
Here are my onions after about ten minutes into step 1:
And here they are when I’ve uncovered the Dutch Oven at the end of step 1:
I’ve now uncovered the Dutch Oven, added the salt and sugar, and turned the heat up a bit. Here they are 30 minutes into step 2:
Don’t stop stirring! These onions need at least another 30 minutes of cooking to reach a golden brown. These are almost there . . .
The huge amount of onions you started with will greatly reduce and will have a heavenly smell as they caramelize. Now add in an extra tablespoon of butter and the flour, before you add your homemade stock:
My original recipe in Fool a Carnivore used a Not-Beef bouillon cube, which I’m now having trouble finding in my grocery store. As a result, I’ve switched to Better than Bouillon No-Beef Base. Because it is high in sodium ( a whopping 710 mg), I only use a tablespoon to enhance my stock and give it meaty flavor. But you do you. . . if one tablespoon doesn’t taste beefy enough to you, feel free to add a bit more.
Although I’ve been doing Dry January, I made an exception on our “snow day” and broke out a lovely Cotes du Rhone and some Courvoisier, both of which enhance the flavor of the soup immensely given the small amounts called for in my recipe.
Ladle in your stock that has been doctored with the Better than Beef Bouillon No-Beef Base, add your herbs, wine, and cognac, and let your soup simmer for about another 30 minutes.
While your soup is simmering, make your croûtes (1/2″ slices of a stale baguette, brushed with olive oil and baked in the oven)
and layer them in the bottom of your oven proof bowls or individual ramekins. (Remember, croûtes are just the fancy French name for the Italian crostini!)
Ladle in your soup to cover the croûtes and sprinkle Gruyere and Parmesan on top. Repeat that step again with another layer of croûtes, stock and cheeses.
French Onion Soup – My Ultimate Cold Weather Comfort Food
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided use)
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (divided use)
- 4–5 large yellow onions, very thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
- 3–4 red onions, very thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon No-Beef Base
- 1 cup red wine
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 sage leaves (or ¾ teaspoon of dried sage)
- 3–4 sprigs thyme (or ¾ teaspoon of dried thyme)
- 3–4 sprigs parsley
- 3 tablespoons cognac (optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Baguette or a good quality loaf of French bread
- 4–5 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Heat a large Dutch oven or a deep-sided skillet, and add 3 tablespoons of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add both types of thinly sliced onions and stir to coat them with the melted butter and oil. Cover and cook over very low heat for about 20–25 minutes until the onions are translucent and very tender. Lift the lid every 5 minutes or so and give them a stir. They should reduce in volume slightly and give off an incredibly succulent aroma.
- Uncover the skillet and turn the heat up a few notches. Add the sea salt and sugar, both of which will help the onions caramelize. Cook for another 60-90 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are a lovely golden brown and greatly reduced in volume.
- Reduce the heat again, add the remaining tablespoon butter, and stir the flour into the nicely browned onions. Cook for a minute or two. While you're doing this, heat your stock and add the water and bouillon cube. You should have a total of 7 cups of liquid.
- Add the liquid gradually and stir well to make sure the flour doesn't lump. Add the wine, optional cognac, bay leaves, sage, thyme, parsley, and freshly ground black pepper. Let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes or so. Remove the bay leaves, sage, thyme, parsley, and adjust seasonings.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the baguette into ½-inch thick slices. Put the slices on a lightly greased baking sheet, and brush the slices lightly with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Bake them for about 10-12 minutes, until they are golden. Remove from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack. Julia says that these are called croûtes (similar to an overgrown crouton, but actually more like an Italian crostini in appearance).
- Lightly grease individual ramekins or ovenproof soup bowls with a little olive oil or butter. Put them on another baking sheet. Grate your cheeses and combine them.
- Put 1 or 2 of the croûtes in the bottom of the individual ramekins or bowls so that they cover the bottom. Sprinkle with cheese, and then ladle in a little of the delicious soup. Add another layer of croûtes, more cheese and more soup. End with a layer of croûtes and cheese at the top of the bowl. Put them in the oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbling. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. The soup will be scalding hot, so please don't burn yourself.
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