French onion soup, those little pots of slow-simmered onions and bubbling cheese, warms our bellies on cold autumn days. While I'll always have a place on my table, in my belly, and in my heart for other favorite cold-weather soups like curried lentil soup, and slow cooker chicken soup.
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I make it frequently in winter - combining the mountains of onions we purchase in bulk each autumn from regional farms with homemade beef stock (though, if I'm lucky enough to have it, I prefer using pasture-raised veal stock). I float a thin slice of day-old no-knead sourdough bread in the fragrant soup, top it with a smattering of Gruyere cheese, bake it and serve it with another winter staple: homemade sauerkraut.
Classic French Onion Soup Recipe
Sweet with the flavor of long-simmered onions, this French onion soup also takes a savory note from reduced beef stock, bay, black peppercorns and thyme.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon tallow
- 1 pound yellow onions (peeled and sliced thin)
- ¾ pound red onions (peeled and sliced thin)
- ¼ pound shallots (peeled and sliced thin)
- 1 teaspoon finely ground real salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon smoked black peppercorns
- 1 ½ quarts bone broth
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 slices sourdough bread
- 4 ounces Gruyere cheese (shredded)
Instructions
- Melt the tallow in a heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat, then stir in onions and shallots. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in salt. Cover and sweat the alliums, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent - about 10 minutes.
- While the alliums sweat, tie bay leaves, thyme and peppercorns together in a piece of cheesecloth or a small muslin bag, and add it to the pot. Stir in beef stock and wine, then simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes or until the stock is reduced by ⅓.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Ladle into oven-proof soup bowls. Top with a piece of day-old sourdough bread and 1 ounce shredded Gruyere cheese. Cover and bake for 20 minutes, then serve.
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Edwina says
I add good beef to my soup. It is more hearty and filling.
Danika says
Cooking my very first bone broth today http://instagram.com/p/lsq9xonuNd
I pre-roasted the bones.
Wondering about the white wine substitution as well… or if I can just leave it out?
Thanks for all of the inspiration!
Deborah says
What can be used to substitute the dry white wine with? Thanks!
Laura says
I agree with you about a great broth! Thank you so much for all of the info. Can't wait to put it to use 🙂
donnagail broussard says
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Jenny says
i appreciate your reaching, but, at this time, it's not a good fit for me.
Donnagail Broussard says
I made my bone marrow broth after roasting my bones and marrow....but my stock came out white....how do I make my french onion soup brown like you see in restaurants?
Also, I am starting a magazine, and I would love your blog and would love to promote it. My magazine is called Ageless Woman, and you offer so many healthy tips for aging women. Would you write something and send me some 300 dpi pics of healthy winter soups and put one of your recipes? We could build traffic on your blogsite and in my magazine!
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Publisher, Ageless Woman Magazine
Janice says
I don't have an answer regarding your broth turning white, but my brother (who worked as a cook in several restaurants) told me this insider's secret: while some restaurants do use beef broth as a base for Onion Soup, there are many who caramelize sugar to achieve the brown color in the broth. The sweeter flavor will be the giveaway to this less expensive and quicker method of making the soup.
Sandra L Mort says
Looks lovely and delicious!
The only possible point I would disagree with is whether it is truly French. I have a foodie friend in France who was appalled to learn that Americans name French onion soup with beef broth. She said that in France, the vegetarian broth in this dish is flavored by onions that have been cooked for a very long time until they disintegrate into a paste.