Best Ever French Onion Soup

Submitted by 2Bleu

"For the best flavor, make the soup a day ahead. Prep time does not include making this a day ahead."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 40mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• Soup

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 large Spanish onions, quartered and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 9 cups beef broth
• 3⁄4 cup red wine
• 3 tablespoons brandy
• 1 bay leaf
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper

• CROUTON BREAD SLICES

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 slices French bread, 1/2-inch thick

• Topping

• 4 -6 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded (or mozzarella)

directions

1. SOUP: In dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and salt, cover and cook until softened, stirring occasionally about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook until caramelized, about 30 minutes more.
2. Stir in flour; cook 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer, partially covered about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Cool and refrigerate till next day.
3. CROUTON BREAD SLICES: Preheat oven to 375°F Mix olive oil with garlic powder and brush both sides of bread slices with the oil mixture. Place on baking sheet and bake 12 minutes, turning once, until bread is slightly toasted. Set aside.
4. TO SERVE: Preheat broiler. On stovetop, heat soup to a simmer. Ladle soup into 4 broiler safe bowls. Top with french bread slices and cheese. Place bowls on baking sheet and broil 4" from heat until cheese is bubbly. about 2 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
5. PASTRY PUFF VARIATION: Preheat the oven to 400°F Roll out one sheet of puff pastry and sprinkle with half the Gruyere cheese, fold into 3 and roll out again. Cut out 4 lids. Divide the soup among ovenproof soup bowls. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of soup and cover with the pastry lids with a little egg wash seal. Bake the soup in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheesy puff pastry is golden in colour and well risen.

Reviews

[Ron H.]

I was absolutely speechless after my first bowl of this soup. I have never made a soup from scratch before and found it to be amazingly simple and easy, too. I refrigerated the soup in the Dutch Oven for two days rather than one -- something came up and so it was in a day longer than it calls for in the recipe. It was delicious but since I am a new widower and there is just me and the dog, I saved and froze equal portions for my two adult daughters. Boy are they in for a surprise.

 

[IndyGrl87]

Awesome! This is a warm, comforting dish. The only modification I made was to infuse the olive oil with fresh, cracked garlic cloves instead of using the powder. It gave it a subtle hint of fresh garlic. Also, I think that refrigerating it overnight to allow the flavors to combine and develop is essential if you have the time. Absolutely wonderful - well done!

 

[Noo8820]

This is a soup that has perfectly balanced,deep,rich flavours.Elegant enough for a dinner party,yet satisfying enough for a working lunch. This recipe is also easy enough for those who are not terribly confident in the kitchen,to produce a great tasting dish. A triumph-thank you for posting. Made for PRMR.

 

[MaMere]

I've made this recipe countless times and it is always a wonderful treat! I made it this weekend, and had to use swiss and mozarella cheese (no gruyere in the house) and it turned out beautifully, as always.<br/>Toasted up the french bread I made yesterday, with olive oil, salt, a bit of parmesan and oregano, cut into 2 inch cubes, makes it nice when you dig your spoon into that cheesy goodness to get a chunk of toast like that.<br/>Thank you for sharing a really great soup recipe.

 

[RobynTF]

I was craving French Onion Soup and this hit the spot. My boyfriend ate it and he doesn't even really like French Onion Soup. (He was not a fan of the crouton, but that is personal preference.) I followed the directions as close as possible. I used cab merlot for the wine. And accidentally only bought 2 cartons of beef broth/stock (they don't sell broth where I live) which only equals 8 cups...so just made it with that. Also I used Dutch Havarti for the cheese (it was on sale, looked like swiss and I couldn't find Guyere) and that tasted good...as the melted cheese is my favorite part. Lastly, I didn't let it sit over night as I was craving it and wanted it for dinner. Still tasted good, but will probably taste just as good, if not better for tomorrows leftovers/dinner.