French Onion Soup

Bonjour! We’re just one week away from our long awaited trip to Paris, and in honor of our trip, I thought I’d share my fabulous recipe for everyone’s favorite French classic: French Onion Soup! My version is cheesy, ultra boozy and absolutely scrumptious! This soup is ultra filling, so consider making it as a main course with some crusty baguette and whipped, salted butter, instead of a traditional first course. If you want to serve this soup as a first course, I recommend cutting back the cheese, using only one slice of bread and filling the bowls only half-way up!

By caramelizing the onions and adding both cognac and sherry, the soup has a bold and complex flavor. Topped with Gruyere and Parmesan cheese, you can’t go wrong with this French classic. Baked to a bubbly and hot perfection, you and your guests will carry on all night about this soup! This recipe makes at least 6 servings (if you increase the cheese), but I only prepare two below; I freeze the other portions for later! Bon appetit!

Ingredients

4 yellow onions, sliced in rings on a mandolin or by hand in 1/4″ rings

4 tbsp unsalted butter

5 cups beef broth

1/4 cup cognac

1 cup dry Sherry

1″ slices of good French baguette

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Salt

Directions

Melt the butter in a dutch oven or heavy bottom pan. Add the sliced onions and 1 tsp salt, and cook for 30-60 minutes until soft, brown and slightly caramelized, stirring often. If the onions are too hard to handle when they are raw, use tongs to toss. When the onions are soft and caramelized, add the cognac and deglaze the pan. Add the beef broth and bring to a boil. Add the Sherry, taste for seasoning and reduce to a simmer. Let the soup simmer over medium-low heat for 1 hour (or more), partially covered, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F. When the soup has simmered for 1 hour, taste for seasoning. If needed, add more cognac, Sherry and salt. Set two oven safe bowls over a baking sheet. Place a pinch of Parmesan and a small handful of Gruyere in the bottom of each bowl. Fill half to three-quarters full with the soup and onions. Place 1-2 slices of baguette bread on top of each bowl of soup, and distribute the remaining Gruyere and Parmesan cheese on both bowls. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and broil the soup for 1-2 minutes until the cheese is browned. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes, and serve – be careful, the soup and bowls are extremely hot! Enjoy!