Look at the design of French onion soup: comfort food layered with rich broth, caramelized onions, Gruyere cheese and toasted bread. There's not a restaurant or bistro that does not serve some version of this multi-layered dish with its flavors of onions, baked cheese and drenched bread into a single crock.
Adding different flavors like a good sherry or wine will bring out the sweetness of the onions and takes this dish to another taste level. Be adventurous and try different cheeses or tofu as an alternate topping or change the broth flavor from chicken or beef to vegetable for another twist.
Over the years, I’ve experimented with some interesting combinations of this traditional soup. Both the chicken and beef have different characteristics to them; the chicken stock and white wine complement each other. Red wine has a richer flavor that enhances the natural beef flavors. Sherry in the USA has a sweet flavor, which makes it a perfect cooking liquor.
Do a taste test in your house and see which flavor ingredient works best. Skip the wine, and the dish is still outstandingly easy to make and hits the mark for flavor.
Ingredients:
- 3 large onions sliced
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ stick of butter
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. of flour
- ½ cup of white wine or sherry
- 2 cups of chicken or beef stock
- 2 tsp. dried parsely
- 1 bay leaf
- French bread sliced
- Cheese
Preparation:
- In your pot, add the olive oil, butter and sliced onions, and cook the onions until they are caramelized. Sprinkle them with the flour, making sure that they are all coated with the flour. It acts as a thickening agent for the broth.
- Add in the sherry or wine to the onions and gradually add ½ of the chicken or beef broth to the mixture and heat it to a low boil. Add in the rest of the broth, heat to a boil and reduce.
- If you’re using the beef broth version without wine, try adding Worcestershire sauce, and bring it to a boil.
- Remove the bay leaf before you prepare the bowls for serving.
Serve:
Prepare your bowl by filling it with caramelized onions and broth, and top with a piece of bread and cheese. Place the bowls on a baking sheet and broil until the cheese bubbles to a nice brown.
Serve it up as a side dish individually or as an entrée along with a green salad and the remaining French bread slices.
Iris McCammon - In a transition from a career in business writing for 20 years, I wanted to write about a secret passion that I've enjoyed for about as ...
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