french onion soup

Inspired by Rachael Ray's version: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/oh-so-good-french-onion-soup-recipe/index.html, it's easy to make and contains just a few simple ingredients.


french onion soup

1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
6 medium onions
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry red wine
6 cups beef stock (if using bouillon, use 1 tsp or one cube per cup of water)
shredded gruyere, swiss or parmesan cheese

First cut the tops and bottoms off all the onions and peel them.  Next, heat the oil and butter together in a deep pot over medium heat.  Stand near the pot to slice the onions.  Add the onions to the pot as you slice them.  (I find it easier to first cut the onions in half from top to bottom, turn them over cut side down, and then slice thinly.)  When all the onions are in the pot, season with salt, pepper and thyme.  Cook onions, stirring frequently, until tender, sweet and caramel colored.  (The original recipe says it takes 15-18 minutes, but I find it sometimes takes much longer for the onions to caramelize.)  Add the red wine to the pot to deglaze the pan, then add bay leaf and 6 cups of beef stock.  Stir, cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer.  Before serving, remove the bay leaf.

At this point, you can ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with cheese and eat alongside some crusty french bread, a salad, sandwich, burger, or whatever you like.  Alternatively, the original recipe suggests to arrange the soup bowls on a cookie sheet, ladle the soup into the bowls, top each bowl with a slice of crusty bread, cover each bowl with some cheese, sprinkle a little thyme on top, and place the cookie sheet with soup bowls on it in the oven under a hot broiler until cheese melts and bubbles.