French Onion Soup

It seems kind of stupid to post a soup in the middle of the summer heat, but we had a cold spell a few weeks back that prompted this recipe. Plus, I've been trying to find different ways to enjoy my weekly/bi-weekly sourdough boule and we had a bunch of onions to use up and some gruyere in the fridge so french onion soup was the obvious choice.

Ingredients [serves 6]:
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 to 5 medium sweet onions (about 3 lbs.), sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup white wine
8 cups beef broth
+ stale bread
+ grated Gruyere cheese

Start by heating a large, heavy-bottom pot over medium heat. Add butter and olive oil.

While the pot is heating, slice the onions and chop the garlic.

Add the onions and garlic to the pot and stir to coat in the fat and to separate the layers of onion. Sweat until softened, stirring occasionally.

Slowly allow the onions to caramelize over a period of 20 to 30 minutes until they are a rich brown color. Stir periodically to promote even cooking.

Sprinkle in flour and stir to dissolve. Cook for at least 2 minutes to make sure the raw flavor of the flour dissipates.

Add soy sauce, Worcestershire, and wine and stir to combine. Then, add in the broth and simmer the soup for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.

Ladle the soup into oven-safe crocks. Top with a slice of bread and some cheese and pop into the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted. Serve hot.

This is one of those meals that's just crazy comforting but also a bit of a game in danger because you want to be able to enjoy it while it's hot and while the cheese is ooey gooey but you have to exercise just enough patience so that it's not so screaming hot that you burn your tongue.

The soup has a great depth of savory flavor from the garlic and the soy sauce and the Worcestershire, it has a savory sweetness from the onions and the wine, it's got richness thanks to that little bit of flour that helps to give the soup some body, and it pairs so well with cheesy toast. I highly recommend going for a really nutty, almost stinky cheese that melts well (gruyere, comte, raclette). It just elevates the soup from an appetizer to a meal.

Here's the recipe page: