Hello and Happy New Year! First of all, I want to thank you so much for reading my blog! I really enjoy cooking and sharing my recipes with all of you and I hope you have found a recipe or two that has been a big hit in your kitchen.
So I have had the last five days off of work. It has been nice, let me tell you. It was one of those vacations where I did a whole lot of nothing (except cooking – I did a lot of that). I happened to leave my camera battery charger at my friends house, so I was unable to take decent pictures of anything I cooked this weekend! Ah well- there are a few recipes that I have saved for this sort of occasion, including this one- French Onion Soup.
This was one of those bucket-list recipes for me. I knew this soup takes along time to cook (oh yes it does) and it’s something I have always wanted to try. This soup can be unhealthy if you go all out with the cheese (Normally it’s piled on- where you have to make a significant effort to break through the cheese on top to get to the soup). My suggestion: place one slice of bread on top and add half as much cheese and it is just as good!
It sure was an adventure making this soup! I volunteered my boyfriend to help me cut the onions. There was no way I could sit through slicing up 8 onions all on my own. And if I had to suffer, so did he! Mua haha!
So we got to chopping. Within minutes, we were bawling our eyes out. My eyes literally shut on their own and it was torture to open them. It was crazy! I always heard that if you breath through your mouth, it lessens the pain- NOPE. Also if you keep you head far away as possible, NOPE. Cut the ends off last because that’s where the strong teary stuff comes from, NOPE. It was a ridiculous scene as we chopped these onions together in tears. Matt ended up doing this which helped him:
Chopping onions
I eventually put a fan up high, directed at my face, and that helped (make a note of that!).
So if you have strong eyeballs and a few extra hours of time to make this soup, give it a try! It’s a good weekend recipe and it tastes soooo good!
French Onion Soup
Makes a lot- can serve about 8 people… or two people 4 times!
Ingredients:
- 8 large yellow onions
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 cups of beef broth
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- Crispy baguette bread
- Grated Gruyere cheese (FYI, it’s pronounced like groo-yair)
- Salt and pepper
To Do:
Thinly slice the onions into strips. The key is to make them super thin so they can cook in the right amount of time. (I got a mandolin slicer for Christmas after I made this soup though. I highly recommend one of those if you don’t have it. It will slice the onions thin and the same size so everything cooks evenly).
Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven, add the onions and water.
Simmer on a low heat for about 2.5 – 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The onions will significantly shrink down and turn a golden brown color when they caramelize. They will almost be like a paste when finished. (It will smell so good too!)
Add the broth, wine, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
The soup is finally done! Now for the last step: spoon it in oven-safe bowls, place a slice (or two) of bread on the top, cover (or lightly sprinkle) the Gruyere on top.
Place the bowls in the broiler for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese gets all bubbly.
All you have left to do now is enjoy the amazing taste!
To Do:
Thinly slice the onions into strips. The key is to make them super thin so they can cook in the right amount of time. (I got a mandolin slicer for Christmas after I made this soup though. I highly recommend one of those if you don’t have it. It will slice the onions thin and the same size so everything cooks evenly).
Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven, add the onions and water.
Simmer on a low heat for about 2.5 – 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The onions will significantly shrink down and turn a golden brown color when they caramelize. They will almost be like a paste when finished. (It will smell so good too!)
Add the broth, wine, thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
The soup is finally done! Now for the last step: spoon it in oven-safe bowls, place a slice (or two) of bread on the top, cover (or lightly sprinkle) the Gruyere on top.
Place the bowls in the broiler for about 3 minutes, or until the cheese gets all bubbly.
All you have left to do now is enjoy the amazing taste!
So through all of the torture and tears from cutting the onions and waiting the hours for the soup to be finished- was it worth it? I think so. I just wouldn’t make this soup everyday. It tastes soooo good though. It’s all fancy looking and it’s one of those recipes that you feel a sense of accomplishment once you are done. I also had leftovers for a few days, which was nice.