Jan 11, 2011 Posted by denice johnson on Jan 11, 2011 in body, life | 1 comment

french onion soup

My kids love french onion soup. They go crazy when they come home from school and I’m chopping a thousand onions. It impresses the hell out of me that they’ll eat so many foods I wouldn’t go near as a child. They love the sweet flavour of the onions paired with the ooey gooey melted cheese and french bread on top. This is a definite family favourite.

This recipe can be vegetarian or not. French onion soup traditionally uses beef stock as its base but we use vegetable broth for this and all of our soups because half of the people in our little family are vegetarians. You can also use chicken stock if that’s what you prefer or happen to have on hand. We’re not building rocket ships or, in the same highly technical vein, baking pies from scratch. Soup is forgiving, easy and satisfying.

You can download the printable PDF of this recipe by Clicking Here.

Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
3 red onions
2 white onions
2 leeks
3-5 shallots (depending on size)
6-8 c broth
fresh or dried sage
salt and pepper

french bread (a bit stale is preferred here), lightly toasted
grated cheddar

Directions

Get the garlic minced and chop all of your onions to the size you prefer.

Melt butter with olive oil in your best soup pot. Add garlic and warm until fragrant, being careful as heck not to brown. Add onions and stir until everything is coated in the butter and oil. Season with a bit of S&P and sage (freshly chopped – about a tbsp and for dry – about 2 tbsp).

Cook covered on medium heat for about 45 minutes. Take the lid off half way through. The onions will be soft and slightly golden but should not be brown. Stir every few minutes during this process to make sure nothing sticks.

Add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to broil and toast your bread bits until golden. Pour soup into oven safe onion soup bowls, cover with toast and grated cheddar cheese. Put soup bowls on a sturdy baking sheet and Broil on high until cheese bubbles. This won’t take long – keep an eye on the oven and remove before cheese is overdone.

Remove baking sheet from the oven carefully and remember that the soup bowl handles will be very hot. We use a cloth soaked in ice water to cool the handles before serving so that the children don’t burn themselves. The handles will still be warm but are far cooler than straight from the oven.

Enjoy!

To download the printable PDF of this recipe Click Here.

One Response to “french onion soup”

1. chandra says:

   January 14, 2011 at 3:55 pm

   that looks DELICIOUS! love french onion soup. we always have croutons on ours, not bread.. and usually mozza cheese. and I LOVE your special onion soup bowls! I want some of those!