Authentic Homemade French Onion Soup Recipe by Braveheartgal

(‘Soupe à L’Oignon Gratineé’)

• 7 large (about 6 pounds) sweet onions-(Vidalia or Texas Sweet) the onion will cook
• 5 teaspoons Fresh Thyme, leaves removed
• 1 French Baguette (it’s the long skinny one)
• 5-6 tablespoons unsalted Butter
• 10-12 ounces Fresh grated Gruyere cheese
  (from a wedge. Make sure it’s “cave-aged”. Trader Joe’s has this)
• ½ cup or to taste Dry red wine
  (my favorite is a good smooth Spanish wine-‘Marques de Cáceres’, or‘Marques de Riscal’-found at Trader Joe’s, or any red wine from the Rioja region of Spain. Some other wine that I find works great is a good quality Pinot Noir like ‘Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery Pinot Noir 2007’, or a Bordeaux like ‘Mouton Cadet Baron Philippe de Rothschild Bordeaux’
  [Whatever you decide to use, make sure it’s a wine you would not mind drinking, and a good quality.
  It will make the difference in how the soup will end up tasting]
• 2 cups (or to taste) low salt beef stock
  (you will be adding salt to the soup later.)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (from whole peppercorns, then grind up)
• Kosher salt (make sure you use Kosher salt-it’s the best)

Use these ingredients and a base guide, and taste as you go. That’s what great cooking is all about!




Preliminary information
Read this preliminary information first before moving on to the cooking steps and main instructions!

Gourmet Food is all about quality! Making“gourmet” French Onion soup, or (‘Soupe à L’Oignon Gratineé), means using the best quality ingredients and making sure you prepare and present it with precision. This is how the French do things!

As I stated above, DO NOT ADD GARLIC!! It will take away from the onion flavor and the onion needs to be the star of the show! Also, the traditional authentic recipe does not call for garlic. Modern American versions use garlic, but resist the urge to use it in this dish.)

Onions: Select as close to perfect onions as you can find-with no bruises or blemishes, and sliced evenly; not too thin or too thick. It’s also important to properly caramelize the onions. You need to allow at least 30 to 40 minutes of cooking slow on medium low heat. DO NOT BURN them. You need to watch them carefully. You really should not walk away when caramelizing your onions. This is the most important part of making the soup as it is the main ingredient. It needs to be done right. This will ensure that your onions are sweet, juicy and delicious! Some people insist on adding sugar. I am not one of those people I am one who insists on NOT adding sugar. The onions have all the natural sugar your soup will need once they are properly cooked down and caramelized.

Butter: Use the best quality unsalted butter. If you are on a budget, you can use store brand butter, just make sure it’s unsalted. On the other hand, even when you are on a budget, you can often find the best quality and high end gourmet ingredients at great prices at Trader Joe’s. I utilize them often when purchasing my cooking ingredients. Even great quality wine can be bought for 5-7 dollars! Live the good life on a budget!

Fresh Thyme: Fresh is always best and that’s how chefs make their food taste so spectacular:by making sure everything is fresh, and by using the best quality ingredients. Thyme is a traditional ingredient used in French onion soup. I DO NOT recommend using dried thyme or powdered for that matter. Also, some people insist on adding other herbs such as sage or basil. DO NOT do this! RESIST the urge to be creative with this dish. Its beauty is in its simplicity. The French people never change something that has been perfected. Keep the integrity of the dish and use only the ingredients listed here.

Beef stock: One secret to great French onion soup is to start with a good quality beef stock. You can make it from leftover beef bones from your roast, and some cut up vegetables, a bay leaf, and cook for a long time (or find a good beef stock recipe online). However, if you don’t want to spend the time making beef stock, a good quality canned stock is fine. I have used canned broth many times. Just make sure that you DON’T over salt the soup! Get a low salt beef stock and GRADUALLY add the salt. You can always add more, but it’s difficult to fix if it’s too salty. There’s really not a lot you can do once too much salt has been added.

Kosher salt: There are benefits to using Kosher salt. It’s an additive-free, coarse-grained salt and has a great flavor as well, and is used by gourmet cooks who prefer its texture and flavor. Using Kosher salt, you use less than you would regular salt due the large coarse grains. Just make sure that you DON’T over salt the soup! Taste as you go, and remember that the beef stock if you used canned will already have salt in it. GRADUALLY add the salt, and taste as you go. I would not add any salt until you have added the beef stock to the onions. You can always add more, but it’s difficult to fix if it’s too salty. There’s really not a lot you can do once too much salt has been added. On the other hand, if you don’t have the right amount of salt, it will taste bland and gross. (Remember also that the Gruyere cheese will have salt in it as well. Keep the cheese in mind when adding your salt once the broth has been added to the onions. Give it one last taste before serving).
Remember-Not too bland, and not over salty. The right balance is the key. That’s what chefs do! Taste-taste-taste!!

These touches will make your soup a show stopper for your guests and they will be impressed with what you prepared. Friends like it when you go out of your way to make things special for them (and so will your spouse!). When you present them with a bowl of beautifully prepared hot French onion soup, the first thing they will notice is the garnish. Make sure it’s elegant and thoughtfully presented with, cheese nicely melted, slightly golden and crispy on the edges with a fresh sprig of thyme on top.


Cooking and Preparation Instructions

First: Prepare your ingredients ahead of time so that you don’t have to juggle too much in the kitchen while you’re cooking. Before you start cooking, measure out all your ingredients separately first.

1. Remove the leaves from the Thyme sprigs and lightly chop to release the aroma.
2. Measure the butter into 6 separate tablespoons.
3. Measure out the beef stock and put in a separate bowl.
4. Measure out the wine and put in a separate bowl.
5. Grate the cheese and put it in the refrigerator in a small bowl.
6. Slice the baguette into ¾ inch thick slices. Set them on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Get out your oven-safe bowls and set them on a cookie sheet.
8. Don’t measure the pepper as it will need to be freshly ground at the time you add it.
   (It takes only a few seconds to do this)
   
   If you have a small kitchen like I do, you can put all your ingredients that you have prepared and measured and set them on your kitchen table. If you have a bigger kitchen, put them on a separate counter and out of the way so you have room to cook. Have some kosher salt in a glass dish that you can easily grab from as you need it. For the pepper, you can use a pepper mill, or if you don’t have one, get the pepper corns and grind them in a mortar and pestle or even a coffee grinder works.
   
   (Invest in some of those small measuring dishes that chefs use. They really come in handy. You can get a set of 6- multi-colored “pinch bowls” for $6.10 +tax at Target.) (Each bowl is 0.1=3.2 oz. basically, you can comfortably fit 12 teaspoons in the bowl-I checked it myself!).
   
   Evenly slice the onions into slices, and then cut the slices in half. Separate the segments with your hands. Put the butter in the pan and turn up the heat to high. Once the butter has been melted, add the onions until just heated lightly, and then turn the heat down to medium low. If your pan is not large enough to hold all the onions and leave a shallow blanket of onions, use 2 pans, but keep the onions in each pan that they are cooking in. Add a pinch of Kosher salt about 1/8 of a teaspoon and 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, and half of the Thyme leaves to the pan. Continue to stir often (not continuously, but often), until the onions resemble a dark brownish color.
   (see picture just below).
   
   
   Add wine and reduce by half. Add the beef stock and 1 more teaspoon fresh pepper. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes or so. Taste the soup and add wine and beef stock as needed. Taste again and add Kosher salt if needed; it should have a balanced flavor. While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 400⁰. Put the cookie sheet with the baguette slices in the oven and brown them until they are nice and crisp like croutons. They should be a deep golden brown color; just make sure you don’t burn them. This should take no more than 10-15 min. Stay at the oven and check them as they will brown quickly. Get out your oven-safe bowls and set them on a cookie sheet.
   At the bottom of each bowl, place croutons to cover the bottom. Put a light sprinkle of cheese over them. Ladle about 1 ½ ladles full of soup into the bowls on top of the croutons and cheese. Put more croutons on top of the soup, and then generously cover the whole bowl with the Gruyere cheese. You can add as much as you like. Also dangle some cheese over the rim of the bowls. Put in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and light brown. Remove from the oven carefully and let cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle some whole Thyme leaves on top of the soup.
   
   Enjoy and Bon Appetit!