Hola Mi Gente,
Coming at you today with a recipe that is beloved on all sides of our family. When I polled between this recipe and another one on instagram earlier last week, this one won in a landslide! I think part of that comes from the name, right? We tend to think about French Onion Soup as a treat whenever we go out to a restaurant, and because of that we can think it’s complicated. I’m here to tell you that this is a lie!
Onion soup is a recipe as old as time—we have historical knowledge that it existed during the Roman Empire, but was largely believed to be a peasant food because onions are relatively abundant and easy to grow. It had a resurgence in the mid-19th century as an starter soup in Paris, where the onion soup was upgraded to include meat stock, cheese, and bread. For my plant based people, you can definitely alter this dish to be plant based, you’ll just want to swap out the butter for a good vegan butter (a nice sugar content in your vegan butter will go a lot longer way in caramelizing the onions) and a nice, full vegetable broth.
The biggest part of this soup comes in the technique in caramelizing onions. And if I’m honest, the technique is simple: patience. The underlying flavor of this soup is the deep umami flavor of the caramelized onions. If you rush this process, the result will be a bitter charred flavor, and if you underestimate and skip this process the flavor will be nowhere near as deep or complex. Onions are wonderful because they are a prime example of why cooking is science; as you cook onions down, they taste and look different at every stage. In order to caramelize onions well, all you need is time. About 20-35 minutes worth of it, and steady, medium heat. Don’t worry, I’m going to talk you through this process in great depth in the recipe, so that you get it down just right and can add it to your kitchen skill set with ease!
Once you’ve got the onions down, the rest is SO simple, it’s ridiculous. You literally add broth, season to taste, and make cheesy bread (yum!). I promise, one time of getting down your caramelization process down, and you’ll be adding this to your weekly meal plan rotation in no time. I always like to put on a show that is about 30 minutes long when I’m caramelizing onions. It helps me time the process, and keeps me from stirring the pot too much and disrupting the caramelization.
This meal pairs perfectly with a good Roast Chicken and Ratatouille for a proper French-style meal. Whether you enjoy it as a side or main though, I guarantee it’ll make your tastebuds sing as you sip into the melty cheese, deep umami flavor of the broth, and slightly sweet contrast of the onions and the splash of white wine.
Buen Provecho!
French Onion Soup
Equipment
- 4-5 Q Dutch Oven
- Cutting Board & Knife
- Oven or Toaster Oven
- Garlic Mincer or Microplane
- Soup Ladle
Ingredients
Soup
- 4 Large Yellow Onions Sliced Thinly
- 4 TBSP Butter Plus extra if needed
- 1/2 C Dry White Wine
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 1 Quart Beef Broth
- 2 C Water
- 1 Bay Leaf
- Salt to Taste
- Pepper to Taste
- 1/2 C Shredded Swiss Cheese
- 1/2 C Shredded Gruyere Cheese
Cheesy Toast
- 4-6 Slices Sourdough Bread
- 4 TBSP Butter
- 2 Cloves Garlic Grated
- 1/2 C Shredded Swiss Cheese
- 1/2 C Shredded Gruyere Cheese
Instructions
Caramelizing the Onions
- Slice 4 onions in half from root to stem, and then slice into thin slices. Heat a wide-bottom pot over medium heat and melt the 4 tbsp of butter. Once the butter is melted add in your onions and toss to coat in the butter. The pile of onions will sit pretty high in your pot—allow them to cook down. You want to adjust your heat to allow your onions to properly caramelize—this means that they will soften and turn a golden color without burning. To do this you need to find the perfect medium temperature on your stove. If at any point you see your onions browning or sticking to the pot, you need to lower the heat. Caramelizing will take 20-35 minutes, so be patient! Check your onions every 7-10 minutes or so, tossing to keep coating in the butter. This also makes sure that the onions on top are cooking evenly, until they can all be evenly scattered along the bottom of the pan. They will cook down considerably during this time. These onions are the foundation of the flavor for this soup, so be patient with them. If your pan starts to dry out, add 1 tbsp of butter as needed.
- You will know your onions are done because they will have a golden brown color (no char) and will be completely soft, without disintegrating.
Soup
- Add in the 1/2 C of white wine to your pot with the onions, and allow to simmer and absorb into the onions for about 5-7 minutes. This will deglaze the bottom of your pot, and also cook out the alcohol to leave a lovely sweet flavor into the soup.
- Add in the fresh thyme and a bay leaf, and pour in the beef stock and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Allow to cook at a rolling boil for about 5 minutes, and then bring down to a simmer at medium heat. Begin seasoning the soup with salt 1 TBSP at a time, stirring well in between tastings. Remember that soup takes a generous amount of salt. Add pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and add in the mixture of the cheeses right before serving, stirring to melt and disperse.
Cheesy Toast
- Melt the butter in a microwave proof bowl (should take a little less than a minute) and add in the grated garlic. Brush your slices of bread with the garlic butter mixture. In a medium bowl, mix together the Swiss and Gruyere cheeses.
- Place in a toaster oven or regular oven on broil for 2-3 minutes. Just enough for the bread to dry out, but not toast too much. Remove from the toaster and add cheese. Return to the toaster or oven until the cheese has melted, and the edges of the bread are starting to brown (about another 2-3 minutes).
To Serve
- Ladle out soup into bowls, making sure to add a generous helping of onions to each bowl. Place a piece of cheese toast on top of each bowl, and garnish with fresh herbs or micro greens if you wish. Enjoy!
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
