The myth surrounding the invention of French Onion Soup is just that, myth, but legend has it that King Louis the XV of France invented it when all he had in his pantry was butter, onions and champagne. Taking a leap of faith, he combined these ingredients resulting in the first French Onion Soup!
My take on the dish is a bit more evolved and current than that of King Louis, but keeps with the same classic flavors. Hope you enjoy this treat of a meal.
Start by thinly slicing 3-4 medium white onions.
Using a medium-large sauce pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsp of butter.
Add the sliced onions to the pan.
Cook for 20-30 minutes.
Make sure to add some liquid (water, wine, or vinegar) to deglaze and slightly cool the pan every 10 minutes or so.
Once the onions are sweet, sticky, and dark, add the red wine…
…black pepper and salt…
…a bay leaf…
…thyme…
…and sherry vinegar.
Reduce for 5 minutes until the alcohol cooks off, then add the beef broth and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes.
While the soup base is reducing, slice a baguette to fit the shape of your bowl and trim the edges off to form a circle.
Season it with olive oil…
…some salt…
… and black pepper. Toast the slices of seasoned bread until they’re golden brown.
Once the bread is toasted up and the soup is ready to go, fill a thick bake safe porcelain bowl with the soup base.
Top it off with the seasoned crouton (toasted bread)…
…and a healthy portion of shredded cheese.
Place the bowl onto a baking tray and into a 500f oven or broiler until the cheese is bubbling over the sides and the top has a light amber color.
Take the bubbling soup out of the oven…
…allow to cool for 10 minutes…
…and please ENJOY this classic dish!
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:20]
Thank you for this. I just tried the recipe and not sure where I went wrong. The initial taste is there but then the soup has a very tart finish…almost sour. Any ideas where I could have went wrong? Anyway to fix it?