Name: Classic French Onion Soup Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon tallow; 1 pound yellow onions ((peeled and sliced thin)); 3/4 pound red onions ((peeled and sliced thin)); 1/4 pound shallots ((peeled and sliced thin)); 1 teaspoon finely ground real salt; 2 bay leaves; 3 sprigs fresh thyme; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns; 1 1/2 quarts bone broth; 1 cup white wine; 4 slices sourdough bread; 4 ounces Gruyere cheese ((shredded))

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.

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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.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time50 mins

Total Time55 mins

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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 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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