French Onion Soup
This recipe was contributed by Kelly Iverson, who says it is fussy but so awesome it's worth the effort. She's an excellent cook, so when she recommends a recipe you can be sure it's worth trying. She likes this recipe because it tastes good, of course, but also because it freezes well and is a good way to use up those end-of-winter onions that have lost their looks.
3 Tbsp butter
6 large onions
Salt & pepper to taste
2 cups water (plus more)
1/2 cup Amontillado (or other dry sherry)
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
bouquet garni of 6 sprigs fresh thyme and 1 bay leaf
for serving:
slices of your favorite artisan bread, toasted
slices of Gruyere cheese (or Swiss, fontina, or provalone)
Halve onions and cut into quarter-inch slices. Generously grease inside of heavy-bottomed, large pot or Dutch oven (at least 7 qt). Divide butter into 3 pats and place in pot; add onions and 1 tsp salt. Cover and cook at 400F for 1 hour (onions will be moist & slightly reduced in volume). Remove from oven and stir, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and cook another 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 hours, until onions are very soft and golden brown, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.
Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium if onions brown too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6-8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6-8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 to 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the chicken and beef broths, 2 cups water, thyme, and a little salt. Scrape up any more bits of browned crust from the bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.
At this point you can freeze the soup. When ready to serve, reheat if necessary, ladle into bowls, top with toast and cheese, and place under broiler until cheese melts.
The soup can also be used for dipping French dips and for the liquid in pot roasts, particularly beef roasts.
From: Cooks Illustrated
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For contrast, here's what a reluctant cook like me would do:
Simple onion soup
2 Tbsp butter
2 lbs onions, thinly sliced
3 cans beef broth, 14.5 oz. each
1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)
garnish:
1 1/3 cups seasoned croutons
4 thin slices Swiss cheese
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Melt butter in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes or until deep brown. Add broth and wine; boil until soup is slightly reduced and flavors blend, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
To garnish:
Put as many as 4 deep ovenproof bowls on baking sheet and add 1/3 c croutons to each. Ladle soup over croutons and top with cheeses. Stick under the broiler until cheeses melt.
Adapted from Bon Appétit (via the Epicurious website)
Versión en español: this post is also available in Spanish.
Esperanta traduko: this post is also available in Esperanto, because Dana is a language geek.
