French Onion Soup

French onion soup is a hearty soup that is perfect for those cold winter nights. I’m firmly of the belief that no matter what ails you in the realm of the kitchen, onion soup can cure it. 
Never cooked before? Start with onion soup. Want your home to have a transcendent aroma bouncing off every wall, the kind that’s so distracting that you don’t even know or care what’s on the stove, only that you must have it now? Onion soup is waiting for you.

French onion soup is delicious comfort food. Sweet caramelized onions floating in rich beef stock are topped with roasted bread and fresh grated cheese. Individual servings are placed under the grill until the cheese is golden brown. The soup is often served as an appetizer or one-pot meal.

It is important to remember that caramelizing onions is a deliberately slow process, taking in excess of a half hour on the stovetop. The result is onion slices that are golden in color, mellow and sweet tasting thanks to the natural sugars releasing and browning.

Remember that you can make this soup even a few days in advance. It actually tastes better after a day or two in the fridge! Then all you have to do before serving is pour the soup into bowls, add the roasted bread, the grated cheese and put it in the oven.

Though French onion soup is traditionally made with beef stock, vegetable stock is also fine (for the vegetarians).

Another important piece of information for this recipe – you need oven proof soup bowls!

What’s in it (for 4 persons)

500 grams of onions (about 4-5 medium-sized onions)

3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

1 glass of red wine

1 liter of beef stock

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon of dried thyme

50 grams of butter

1 baguette

200 grams of Gruyère cheese, grated

4 tablespoons of olive oil

freshly ground pepper

salt

How to make it

Slice the onions into fairly thin rings. Finely chop the garlic.

Melt the butter in a soup pan, add the olive oil and throw in the onions with the garlic. Mix it all around and add about 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar as well as the thyme. Mix everything well and let it braise gently on a very low heat (with lid on) for about 30 minutes. Stir every now and then, so that the onion doesn’t burn, but will become soft, sweet and equally caramelized on all sides.

Add the red wine and let it all gently simmer for another 15 minutes, so that the alcohol evaporates.

Then add the beef stock, the bay leaves and season the soup with salt and pepper. Let the soup cook gently for another 30-45 minutes.

Pour the soup into 4 oven safe bowls, place about 3-4 slices of roasted baguette in each bowl, cover everything with the grated cheese and put it in the oven at about 225˚C for about 10-15 minutes and then under the grill for about 5 minutes, so that the melted cheese becomes this delicious golden brown crust, standing in between you and your soup.

Bon appétit!