Ahh French Onion Soup… When it’s good, it’s great. But when you get served a mess of onion mush covered in salty brown liquid and stale, cheese covered croutons instead… Well we don’t go back to those restaurants. Good news? The perfectly impressive guest worthy starter (or main entree in my house) is super simple to make at home.
The hardest part is working through the tears to cut all the onions you need. And you need alot more than you think! So get them all cleaned up and ready for chopping. Cut in half across the rings, then cut about a quarter inch thick slices. Separate so you have a mountain of half rings strips of onion.
Add onions to a large preheated and oiled pot and let them caramelize for a few minutes. When they have some color you add all the rest of the ingredients, cover and let simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.
While your soup is simmering you’ll want to toast your baguette slices and shred your cheese. Just before you’re ready to assemble turn the broiler on low.
To put it all together just ladle your soup into a crock or oven proof bowl and top with a slice of toast (or croutons, but the good kind) and cheese. Gruyere swiss is traditional but regular swiss is totally fine too. The best way to get the crocks in the oven without making a big mess is to assemble them on a baking sheet BEFORE you put anything in them. Then move the whole tray in the oven.
Let the cheese get melty and gooey (and a little brown if you’re like me) and you’re ready to serve!
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat large pot over medium heat. Slice onions by cutting in half from the root to the tip. Then slice each half in approximately 1/4 inch slices. You should have half moon pieces when finished.
- When pot is hot and onions are sliced add olive oil to pot. Allow oil to heat for a moment before adding onion slices. Stir frequently and allow to become translucent and slightly browned. About 5-7 minutes.
- When onions are soft, translucent and have darkened a bit add remaining soup ingredients. Add salt last and start with only half. Add more as you like. Cover and allow to simmer for 30 mins.
- Turn the broiler in oven on low. Arrange oven proof bowls or crocks on a cookie sheet or similar. Fill each crock with soup leaving about an inch of space to the top. Place two toasted baguette slices over the soup in each crock. Arrange cheese over top of baguette slices and carefully move under broiler.
- Allow to broil until cheese is melted as desired. Approximately 1 1/2. Remove from under broiler carefully with oven mitts. Crocks will be hot!
