Homemade French onion soup - is anyone else a fan? What is your recipe?

I just shared my French onion soup recipe on my blog, and I’ll share it here too.

I really like this soup. Part of the charm is serving it with hot bread and melty cheese. Most of the time I’ve made toasted cheese sandwiches to serve with it, but last time I made this, I made focaccia without any herbs while I was cooking the soup, and once it was ready, topped it with slices of homemade hard cheese, putting it back in the oven briefly to melt the cheese, called it “cheesy bread” and everyone loved it.

The secret to a great French onion soup is the quality of the bone broth - it should be lovingly made at home from beef bones which have been first roasted to create extra flavour before being slowly simmered for 24 hours or longer, or until the broth is so infused with flavour and minerals that it smells delicious on its own when hot, and sets like a jelly when cold.

Allowing plenty of time for the onions to slowly caramelise also helps to bring out the best of a few simple ingredients. The caramelising can be happening in the background while other kitchen tasks are being done, making this an easy hands-off meal for the most part. Sometimes I run the onions through the slicing bit of my food processor to make the preparation extra quick.

The classic presentation for French onion soup is to serve it in ovenproof bowls, with a slice of crusty bread on the top, covered with cheese and briefly baked or broiled to melt the cheese. I just make toasted cheese sandwiches with my usual everyday homemade bread and serve these on the side.

This soup reheats well. I often make a bigger batch and serve it for a few meals.

Makes around 8 serves. 

Ingredients

12 tablespoons butter (180g)

3 pounds onions (1.35kg), thinly sliced into half moons

Optional 1 cup red wine (or a splash of brandy, or extra broth)

8 to 9 cups (2 litres) beef bone broth

Salt, to taste

Method

Melt the butter in a large stewpot over medium heat. Mix through the onions and allow them to cook, stirring every now and then, until very fragrant, dark golden-brown, and soft. This can take anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes.

Once the onions are ready, stir through the wine for a few seconds, then add the broth. Put the lid on the pot and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes, before adding salt, to taste.

Serve with some combination of crusty bread and melty cheese, such as toasted cheese sandwiches.

Oh yeah. We love a good pot of FO soup in this house. My method is almost identical to yours (although anyone who tells you that you can properly caramelise onions in less than an hour is selling you a bill of goods). I usually use beef stock, too, but the last time I made it I used the broth from a pork shoulder roast and it was superb. I also throw in some dark soy sauce for extra umami goodness, and about a tablespoon of vinegar to give it that acidic zing.

IT is my absolute favorite!  TO me, it begins with good stock.  I save all vegetable scraps and bones and roast them brown in the oven,  Then, I simmer them for a few hours, adding an onion, tomato paste (if necessary) pepper corns, a few cloves, thyme and a few bay leaves.  I usually use about 3 pounds of onions to a gallon or so of stock, but I prefer a mix of alliums, especially my favorite Ramps!  Regardless, I cook down onions and shallots until caramelized, add garlic, wine, strain the stock and stir it in, add parsley and chives and usually a little more thyme, salt and pepper to taste, add a little brandy or sherry at the end.  Fill the ramakins, top with bread fried in butter (crouton), cover with the best Swiss cheese I can find and brown it up all melty under the broiler.  FANTASTIC!