Patience is a Virtue Onion Soup

My take on the classic French Onion Soup

Nothing beats hot soup on a cold day...topping it off with carbs and Cheese - Heaven!

This is one of my favorite comfort foods - a big bowl of steaming hot onion soup with croutons and cheese. I made this soup a few weeks ago when it was a bit on the cloudy outside and it suited the temperature. The one thing about this soup is you must be patient. This is truly a slow food, but anything that takes time is worth it. The trick to any onion soup is to caramelize of the onions. It is amazing how time and low heat can transform the noble onion to a soft, dark and gooey delight. This soup is not hard to make and tastes a thousand times better than the salt filled kind you find in packages.

Thin half moons

Ingredients:

6 – 8 Large Onions (about 8-10 cups) chopped into thin half-moons.

(You can use any kind, but my favorites are the large sweet yellow)

2 -3 Tbsp. of Butter (not margarine)

1 -2 Tbsp. of Oil (any cooking type, olive, canola or grapeseed)

2-3 Bay leaves

Salt and Fresh Black Pepper

1 Tea of Brown Sugar

1 Tea of dried Thyme

1 Cup Sherry (Bristol Cream is my favorite), 

or Wine or if you are able to give some up – good Cognac

1 Litre/4 cups of Broth (Beef, Chicken or even Vegetable – this dish can be vegan)

Toppings:

Add these items to your desired amount to the top of the soup:

- Shredded or sliced Cheese(s): 

You can use what you have. Classically, Gruyere is used, but Swiss, Cheddar or Havarti tastes good. If you can find Truffle Cheese - it's a splurge - but divine.

I use fresh Parmesan (not the kind sold in the shaker). 

Vegans – you can omit the cheese or use vegan cheeses that melts well. 

- Croutons: 

You can buy them packaged or toast some left over bread, let it cool and cut into pieces. Make some fancy ones of your own by brushing oils and spices/garlic onto the bread and toast in the oven. Use the bread you have or like.

- Other options: Chopped fresh green onions, drizzle of flavoured oils and fresh ground pepper.

Tools: Heavy bottom pot/dutch oven with lid, wooden spoon, chopping board, knife (or mandolin) measure tools and time – lots of time.

Time: a little over two hours

Serves: Four

Time to tear up! Peel and chop the onions or you can use a mandolin. A trick I use to stop me from tearing up is when I cut the onion in half; I rinse the inside with cold water.

The slices should be half-moons and to reduce cooking time, I recommend to slice as thinly as you can and please watch your fingers.

 

Sharp knife = happy life

One trick to chopping any vegetable is to have a SHARP knife. The other important step is to always pay attention to where your fingers are. Using a dull knife can actually be hazardous with it slipping off the item and ending up on your fingers. You should never need press hard to cut veggies. 

Next to a good set of cooking pot and pans, the equally important kitchen utensil it is a good knife. My husband is a huge fan of quality knives and on my picture is our first knife we bought at Knifewear.  The knife shown is handcrafted (which makes it one of kind) and is awesome to work with. As I mentioned before, I don’t get commission, so this paragraph is only a suggestion for future kitchen investment. If you are going to be needing a knife – invest in quality. We just like Japanese steel. Plus, the knife is pretty.

I will do post in the future about knives, but for now back to chopping/cooking....

Once all the onions are chopped, get your pot on the stove and heat to medium high. Melt the butter and add the oil. I add the oil to help the butter not burn. Add the onions and stir gently. 

The onions would be crowded, but after an hour – they will reduce substantially. Stir and add some salt and fresh ground pepper.  If the onions look like they are sticking, add a little water and stir. Reduce heat to medium/low and cover. Put a timer on for 5 minutes.

 

After half an hour....

After the timer goes, stir the onions to make sure they're not sticking. Cover and put again a timer for another 5-10 minutes. You don’t need to be next to the stove the whole time. I recommend having the heat around less than medium, but check on the onions once and a while to make sure they are not burning to the bottom of the pan.

After half an hour, of checking on the onions - I like to put in my Bay Leaves, Thyme and a little more salt/pepper.  Stir, cover and keep checking on the onions for another half hour. This is why this soup is slow and you can't rush goodness. 

Not yet...still too light for me

The onions will eventually reduce and turn a rich brown and that’s what we want. 

If the onions are starting to get too "liquidly", since they are releasing it's water content - I partially cover the pot to let some of the steam evaporate.

 

Ah, Just right!

When the onions turn a shade of rich brown and are reduced to less than a quarter of what you started with – add the sherry and the sugar, and deglaze the pan.

Deglazing is adding liquid and scrapping the bottom of the pan (with a wooden spoon) to remove the rich and yummy toasty bits.

 

My favorite cooking ingredient....

When the sherry is reduced, add the broth. The broth should cover the onions at least by an inch. Increase the heat and boil for a minute or two. 

Take a taste test (remember it's hot - watch your tongue) and see if you need more salt or pepper.

Partially cover and reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. I told you this soup takes time.

To serve, ladle into a bowl and top with croutons and cheese. The steam will melt the cheese – but if you have those awesome onion soup bowls – add lots of cheese and put under the oven broiler.

Sadly, I don’t have onion soup bowls – so I just let the steam melt the cheesy goodness. I need to visit some garage sales this summer and see if anyone one has those retro French Onion Soup bowls with the handle.

This brings back memories...

Like most soups, this will taste really good the next day. That's if you have any left...

If you have any leftovers – ladle into storage food container, refrigerate without the croutons, and cheese of course.  It should keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Enjoy.