Description
About as good as it gets! This is the version of French Onion Soup that people seek when they go to restaurants. I have been making it for 30 years and it never fails to please. It makes an exquisite presentation, too!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
- 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
- 1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
- 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 4 thick slices French or Italian bread
- 8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices, room temperature
- ½ cup shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese, room temperature
- 4 pinches paprika
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in red onions
- sweet onions
- and salt. Cook
- stirring frequently
- until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy
- about 35 minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth
- beef broth
- red wine
- and Worcestershire sauce. Bundle parsley
- thyme
- and bay leaf with kitchen twine; add to the pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes
- stirring occasionally. Remove and discard herb bundle. Reduce heat to low; stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover soup and keep warm over low heat while you prepare the toast.
- Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven’s broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil
- turning once
- until well toasted on both sides
- about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; do not turn off the broiler.
- Arrange 4 large oven-safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice of toasted bread
- 2 slices Gruyère cheese
- and 1/4 of the Asiago cheese. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.
- Cook under the hot broiler until bubbly and golden brown
- about 5 minutes. Cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal as it melts.
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 4