French Onion Soup

As fall approaches and the nights get longer and the days become cooler, nothing is quite as soul-satisfying as a steaming bowl of  home-made soup.  And one of the least expensive, easiest to prepare, and most flavorful of soups is French Onion. When prepared slowly this perennial favorite develops a rich, deep satisfying flavor that belies the simplicity of the recipe.  All that is needed to transform onions into a sweet, complexly flavored soup is patience and long slow cooking.

Ingredients:

• 2lbs of white, yellow or sweet onions, finely sliced.     
• 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.     
• 1 tsp salt     
• 1 tsp sugar  (if using sweet onions like Vidalia, omit the sugar).    
• 3 tbsp of butter     
• 5 cups of beef broth.     
• 2 tbsp of dried onions     
• a pinch of thyme     
• 1 bay leaf.     

Method:

• In a large dutch oven heat butter over medium low heat until melted.     
•  Add the onions and the garlic to the butter and stir until the vegetables are coated with butter.  Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, add salt and sugar, and place a lid on the dutch oven.      
• Cook onions for 45 minutes stirring once or twice to help the vegetables cook evenly.  At the end of the 45 minutes the onions should be translucent and very soft and sweet with quite a bit of liquid being released.     
• Remove lid from pan and turn heat up to medium low and allow most of the liquid to gently simmer away. Do not boil the mixture.     
• Once most of the liquid has evaporated add 1 tablespoons of butter, turn heat to low and cook onions slowly stirring occasionally.  After 20 minutes of slow cooking the onions should begin to take on a nice brown hue.  Don’t be tempted to turn the heat up to speed up the process as it is very easy to burn the sugars and ruin the dish.  The longer this process takes, the deeper and more complex the final flavor of the soup.     
• Stir the onions more often as they get deeper in color, making sure to scrape off the fond that sticks to the bottom of the pan. Once the caramelization process begins it doesn’t take long for the onions to fully caramelize and turn a deep mahogany color.     

Caramelized Onions

• De-glaze the pan by adding  1/2 cup of beef broth (or a good red wine if you have one handy).     
• Add the remaining beef broth, dried onion flakes, and herbs to the pot and simmer very slowly over low heat for 1 hour or until ready to serve.     

• Adjust seasoning to taste before serving.     
• Serve with a crusty, lightly toasted baguette (with or without cheese) and a crisp, cool salad.     

Enjoy!