One crisp autumn day, warm your family and friends with savory onion soup. They will delight in the earthy flavor of this rich but simple treat. The remains of a multitude of buttery, golden onions, slowly cooked over hours, mix with the sumptuous flavors of beef stock and the complex qualities of chardonnay. This soup, served with a slice of crusty bread and blanketed with melted cheese is an ample meal in itself.
I was originally inspired to create this soup from a a recipe that I found in The Martha Stewart Cookbook (1995, pg. 146). I have played with the recipe over the years and customized it to our family’s liking. I hope you enjoy my version of French Onion Soup.
French Onion Soup
10 pounds onions, sliced very thin
1 1/2 cubes of butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup flour
28 cups beef broth ( you can make this with concentrated beef stock found in granular, paste, and cubed form)
3 cups chardonnay
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
Slices of French Bread
Grated mozzarella cheese
In a very large stock pot melt butter and combine with the oil. Add the sliced onions and stir to coat with the butter-oil mixture. At this point your pot will be full of onions. After a few minutes, sprinkle the sugar over the onions and stir. Simmer and stir the onion mixture for 2-3 hours. The onions will cook down to 1/4 -1/3 of their original volume and turn a rich, golden brown.
Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir to evenly coat. Slowly add the broth, chardonnay, and the worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer for another 1/2 of an hour.
Ladle the soup into oven-proof crocks. Place a thick piece of french bread in each bowl and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of the bread and soup. Broil for a minute or two, until the cheese is bubbly and golden. Be careful handling the extremely hot bowls.
Serve and enjoy this flavorful, warm treat.
“Do you have a kinder, more adaptable friend in the food world than soup? Who soothes you when you are ill? Who refuses to leave you when you are impoverished and stretches its resources to give a hearty sustenance and cheer? Who warms you in the winter and cools you in the summer? Yet who also is capable of doing honor to your richest table and impressing your most demanding guests? Soup does its loyal best, no matter what undignified conditions are imposed upon it. You don’t catch steak hanging around when you’re poor and sick, do you?” – Judith Martin (Miss Manners)
