Famous French Onion Soup

Well, maybe my Famous French Onion Soup it isn't quite 'famous' yet, but my hope is that it will be someday!  I actually used to make a very simple version of this soup before deciding to jazz it up a bit and create something with a bit more style and class.  Again, I morphed several recipes together to create my masterpiece.  I think I made this soup about three times last Winter due to the freezing temps and piles of snow we got in Minneapolis.  This year, I haven't made it once due to the mild weather we have had, and I miss it (the soup, not the crappy Winter weather!)

Anyway, since today happens to be the only chilly, rainy, and rather gloomy day in the forecast for this week, it is the perfect day for soup!

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Famous French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
4 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 thick slices French or Italian bread
8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices, room temperature
4 pinches paprika 

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.

2. Mix beef broth, water, and Worcestershire sauce into pot. Add the garlic, parsley, thyme, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf to the pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.

3. Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.

4. Arrange 4 large oven-safe ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slice Gruyere cheese and sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.

5. Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. As it softens, the cheese will ooze over the sides of the crock and form a crusty seal. Serve immediately!

Gooey deliciousness!

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And there you have it! A deliciously cheesy bowl of delectable, yet very rustic, French Onion Soup to warm you up on a chilly day... and I guarantee it will be better than what you can get at your average restaurant. I personally enjoy being able to control the amount of salt and butter that goes into this soup, and playing around with the spices and other seasonings as well.

Enjoy!

Librarian turned Foodie