Recipe of the Week: Deconstructed French Onion Soup

Recipe From Sweet Potato Chronicles

Soups are always a crowd favorite and you can’t go wrong with the French onion which has a delicious combination of an earthy onion broth as well as a surprisingly complementory touch of cheese. I have to admit that I’m a fan of Winberie’s French Onion soup but it’s impossible and inpractical to eat off campus far too often. Lucky enough, here’s a way to do French Onion soup in a creative and equally delightful way.

French Onion Soup

2 onions
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp flour
4 cups stock (I used a low sodium chicken stock but many recipes call for beef)
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
half a stick of baguette
1 cup or so of grated Gruyere and Parmesan mixed.

Trim the ends off the onions and peel off the papers. Cut each onion in half lengthwise and then lay each half down flat on your cutting board. Now slice those halves into the thinnest slices you can – mind your fingers! Depending on the size on your onions, you might even want to chop those rings in half.

In a big pot or Dutch oven, melt your butter and toss in the onion slices, minced garlic, sugar, thyme and pinch of salt and pepper. Give it all a little stir and then let it sweat over medium low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir and turn over the heap of onions every few minutes to make sure it’s all cooking evenly. The onions will become very soft and caramelized but watch they don’t get too dark.

Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and stir it together. It will make it look a bit sticky. Now add the vinegar and a cup of stock. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze all the goodness that will be sticking there. Add the rest of the stock. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, although it could bubble away longer if you need it to.

While your soup is simmering away you can get the sandwich part going. Turn your oven onto broil. Cut the bread into about inch thick slices. Cut as many slices as bowls of soup you’ll be serving. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and now put a layer of the cheese mix on each piece of bread.

Pop it all in the oven on a high rack and keep an eye on them. You want the cheese to melt and bubble and the bread to brown but not burn, obviously. I’ve heard stories of people who get distracted by Twitter and burn meals…. Anyway. Pull the bread out of the oven and let it cool a bit. Once they’re cool enough to handle cut the bread into large crouton-like cubes. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a slice of bread’s worth of croutons.

If you happen to try this recipe out, please share your thoughts or images of your masterpiece with us either in the comments or on our Facebook page!