Imagine how many tears three pounds of onions can draw from a victim’s eyes. But that’s not all that three pounds of onions can be used for.
If you’re going through a recent break-up, or are feeling a bit down because life is unpredictable, or just happen to be in a part of the world where it’s colder than usual, this is for you.
French onion soup is tasty, insanely filling, and very nutritious.
Shelly’s recipe
Shelly Jaronsky, a self-proclaimed food addict, mostly got into French onion soup through her husband. He almost always orders French onion soup when they go out.
Recently, her young son was curious to try what his dad seemed to enjoy a lot. It didn’t take much convincing; he loved the first bite. For Shelly, this meant that she had to find a perfect recipe to make it at home for her family.
Slow cooker or stove top?
If you know you won’t have much time to make this recipe in the evening, using your slow cooker is a great option. It’s simple and equally delicious.
Overall, using your stove top is faster but needs more attention than using a slow cooker. One advantage of using your stove top is that you can caramelize your onions in butter to bring out the depth of flavor that French onion soup is known for.
It’s all up to you.
Does it matter what type of onions you use?
It doesn’t. However, you’ll notice slight differences in each type. Vidalia onions will bring out a slightly sweet taste. Not everyone likes that. A great way to work around this is to use a mixture of both Vidalia onions and white or yellow onions.
Red onions are milder than Vidalia onions, but still bring some sweetness to your soup. They also may bring out a distinct purple color in the soup. Shelly recommends using half red and half white onions to balance out the flavor.
White onions are perfect on their own, and they caramelize better than any other variety of onions. They also have a very strong onion flavor.
Shelly’s favorite is yellow onions. They aren’t too sweet and are milder than white onions. Switch it up with all these and see what you like best.
Cheese?
It all comes down to your preferences; any type of cheese should work. The go-to cheese for French onion soup is Gruyere cheese (Swiss Cheese). It melts flawlessly into your soup and still has a little solid feel to it in each bite. Some people like to combine Gruyere cheese with Parmesan cheese.
How to make french onion soup
To start, you’ll need:
- Thinly sliced onions (3 large onions)
- ¼ cup of cubed butter
- 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cups of beef broth
- ½ cup of dry red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
- 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
- 16 slices of French baguettes, preferably cut ¼ inch thick
- 8 ounces of grated Gruyere cheese
- ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
If using a slow cooker
Start by placing your onions, butter, salt, and pepper in your cooker for 3-4 hours to make your onions tender.
Next, add your broth, red wine, bay leaf, thyme, bouillon, and Worcestershire sauce while continuously stirring your onions.
Cook the mixture for another 2-3 hours on high heat. Once the onions are cooked down, remove the bay leaf and ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls.
Add two slices of bread to each bowl, top with cheese, and place each bowl on a baking sheet. Broil your bowls in an oven for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese melts to your liking.
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For the stove top option
Saute your onions in butter under medium heat for 10-12 minutes.
Once your onions are nicely golden and soft, season them with salt and pepper. Next, add your broth, bay leaf, thyme, red wine, bouillon cubes, and Worcestershire sauce while continuously stirring the mixture.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Keep that going for one hour while stirring as needed.
Just like we did with the slow cooker, remove the bay leaf and ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls, add cheese, and melt it.
Most importantly, serve your French onion soup hot and enjoy!
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By Catherine
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Catherine is a contributor at SBLY Media.
