We had my in-laws up at the lake with us back in November right when the weather started rolling in the cold fronts. Hubby and his dad when to play golf and I had a nice pot of warm soup waiting for them. It happens to be my mother in laws favorite soup so I was worried it wouldn’t be up to par. We really enjoyed it and it came out more flavorful then I thought with such little ingredients. I just wish it made more for the amount of time that goes into the dish.
I forgot to pack the fresh thyme, so I sprinkled in a little dried thyme I had. The flavor is really go on this soup, but it made 4 servings and it wasn’t large servings. I would double it for sure next time.
French Onion Soup
(Adapted from Melissa d’Arabian)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 yellow onions (about 1 3/4 pounds), thinly sliced with the grain to hold their shape
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 cups beef stock
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup grated Swiss
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
Four 1-inch-thick baguette slices, cut on the diagonal
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions; sprinkle with salt, cover and cook 10 minutes to get them going.
Uncover, add the thyme and bay leaf, and continue cooking until the onions are deeply caramelized, 1 to 11/2 hours.
Turn the heat up to medium and sprinkle the onions with the flour.
Stir and allow the flour to cook, 1 to 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine and allow to reduce.
Add the beef stock, chicken stock and lemon juice, and simmer, about 10 minutes. Taste the soup, and add salt and pepper as needed.
Meanwhile, preheat the broiler to high. Ladle the soup into 4 ovenproof crocks.
Mix the Swiss and Parmesan in a small bowl. Top each crock with a baguette slice and evenly distribute the cheese on top of each.
Place the crocks under the broiler just until the cheese is bubbly and browned, about 1 minute. Serve hot.
