Recipe Store

Culinary Vacations for Lovers of Food and Wine

France

Caramelized French Onion Soup

“Enjoy this classic French soup dish to keep you toasty warm."

Ingredients:

8 large sweet yellow onions, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch thick slices

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

¼ teaspoon of sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup water

½ cup of dry white wine

8 cups of beef stock (or 50/50 beef and chicken stock)

1 bay leaf

6 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

              Cheese Croutons

1 loaf toasted French baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices

2 ½ cups grated Gruyère cheese

Method:

1) In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in olive oil and butter on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned (about 30 minutes in total). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with caramelization and then cover.

2)  Remove the cover and continue to cook stirring frequently until liquid evaporates and the onions brown (roughly 6 to 8 minutes) adjusting the heat as necessary.  The pan bottom will be coated with a darkish crust (pan drippings), gently scrape the bottom and sides of the pan and spoon back into the onions.

3) Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in a splash of the water, scraping the pan bottom to loosen the crust, and cook until water evaporates and then pan bottom has formed another dark crust. Repeat process of deglazing with water, until onions are very dark brown.

4)  Stir in the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring frequently, until the wine is partially evaporated (about 5 minutes).

5)  Add the stock, bay leaf, and thyme. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

6)  For the cheese croutons - while the soup simmers, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on baking sheet and bake in a 400-degree F oven until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

7) Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler to 350 degrees F.

8) To serve - use individual oven-proof soup bowls on a baking sheet or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère cheese. Broil until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately, serves 4-6.

If you have questions about any of these recipes don’t hesitate to ask us – the recipes are in the chef’s own words.