This will sound nuts (you're used to that from me by now), but even though Kent and I didn't used to like onions, we've always loved French Onion Soup. I pulled from a few different recipes to come up with my own version and it was sooooo flavorful…
Here's another photo:
Organic French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 8 Tablespoons Pastured butter
- 4 pounds Onions, sliced thin (I used a mixture of red & white since that's just what I ended up with at the farm market yesterday). A chef I spoke to suggested Vidalia onions for the best flavor.
- 1 3/4 teaspoon Sea salt , divided
- 1/2 teaspoon Palm sugar (helps to caramelize the onions)
- 1 cup Burgundy wine or any red wine
- 7 cups Bone broth – I used a mixture of chicken and beef stock – a couple of the recipes I found called for that. Sounds weird but it was good. A chef I spoke to suggested veal stock for best flavor. I now know how quick and simple pressure cooker broth is so I can make some mineral-rich broth more quickly in a pinch. If you just don't think you will make it or want some on hand for when you're really crunched for time, try this bone broth — it's 100% grass-fed with a bunch of gelatin, organic ingredients, and it's shelf stable! I love keeping their beef and chicken broth on-hand for quick recipes because they make it just like I do here, and without the nasty msg-like ingredients, additives, or preservatives that store-bought has.
- 1 teaspoon Fresh or dried thyme
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 cup Shredded parmesan
- 1 handful Croutons or a piece of toasted bread for each bowl
- 1/8-1/4 cup Cheese for the top. Most restaurants use provolone or gruyere, but I've used mozzarella or Swiss if that's what I have.
Instructions
- Melt the butter and add the onions, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt, then simmer in a hot pan just to sear them and get color on the outside (this gives it great flavor). Turn the heat down to low-medium-ish heat, cover and cook 'til onions are translucent, about 15 minutes, then uncovered for another 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and scrape the goodies off the bottom. Turn the heat down as needed (don't let them burn obviously) and cook longer if they're not a deep brown and caramellized yet.
- Now add the wine and cook 1-2 minutes. Add broth, bay leaves, thyme, the other 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes to allow all the flavors to come together nicely.
- Discard any bay leaves or thyme sprigs. Taste test to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Using a largle ladle or glass measuring cup, divide soup evenly between 6 oven-safe bowls. Sprinkle parmesan on the soup, place croutons or toasted bread on the parmesan, then add the provolone, gruyere or whatever cheese you're using for the top.
- Place a cookie sheet on your oven rack and then set the bowls on and bake about 10 minutes at 450* 'til cheese is melted and everything is bubbly. You might want to turn on your oven's broiler to get the cheese a bit golden on top. Let cool a few minutes before serving.
Not fast, but simple for sure
This was filling enough for a main dish and tasted as good as what we've had in restaurants, all on my first try! We had it with a few different farm market fruits and veggies. This worked out great for a meatless meal, since most of the day Kent & I kept saying to each other, “So what should we pull out of the freezer for dinner?”, and we weren't getting anywhere. This soup was easy, not all that fast, but pretty simple to pull off.
More ideas and other posts you might like:
- Omit the bread from this soup and you have a healthy, tasty no carb meal! Scroll down here for other no carb/low carb ideas
- I'm working on another post with more info and resources to help you find hope for healing Autism, but for now, check out the new link I added to a video at this post: Autism / ADHD / ADD / Behavioral problems – Ways to Help, Ways to Cure?
- Where to buy coconut oil
Meal Planning Help!
Sick of planning meals and answering the question, “What am I going to feed these people?” No matter what kind of eater you are… Check out these affordable interactive easy-to-use meal plans where the work is done for you! Also read over my review to see what I thought of it.
Janice says
You have salt in the ingredients list. No where do you say to add?.
KitchenKop says
So sorry, I’ll go fix it now!
Kelly
Diana Mueller says
I love this soup!! However, I now must live gluten and dairy free. I also cannot tolerate cashews. So I’ve been wondering how it would be without cheese? Any suggestions for an added flavor boost?
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Ooh, good question. You could always substitute the bread with a gluten free garlic toast, but I don’t know of a really good non-dairy cheese substitute. French onion soup is SO flavorful anyway though, that I think it can stand on its own.
Diana Mueller says
Kelly the Kitchen Kop Thx! That’s what I was thinking. I’m going to try it!
Stephanie Bogan says
Have you ever made it without wine?
Did it taste alright?
(Alcohol is too flaring for many A.I.s)
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
I think it would be just fine without wine. You could also try substituting a little of something else with a little acidity and sweetness–kombucha or a very small splash of apple cider
or red wine vinegar and/or apple juice maybe?
Stephanie Bogan says
Great ideas ! I always have trouble thinking up good substitutions, then end up disappointed, because some underlying Taste note is missing 😀
Debbie Covello Harvey says
I am very allergic to alcohol. What can I substitute?
Jill-David Boman says
You can leave it out, Debbie, but I wonder if it was cooked well if all the alcohol would evaporate out? If you leave out the wine you’d need something to make up for that slightly fruity/tart flavor like a splash of red wine vinegar and a little juice (like pomegranate or grape) along with extra broth. I sometimes use kombucha to substitute for wine if I’m out of wine.
Melissa @ Dyno-mom says
And oh! I wonder if the reason you don’t like onions is the spicey and tear producing sulfur compounds! The interesting thing about the onion is that the cell walls rupture under cooking and these compounds will escape into the air. When you add fat, it promotes the conversion of these starchy cell walls into sugar and they get sweeter, a la maillard reaction. So what was once a starchy and irritating food is now sweet and gooey. That’s how I like my onions. I think they are even better with bacon fat.
Some southern cooks lightly cook onions in water until soft but they are still spicey and stiff. I have never liked that method, but that’s me.
Melissa @ Dyno-mom says
I popped over from your Lake Michigan post because French Onion Soup is a favorite around here. You know, I prefer the oven-baked method, It reduces five pounds of onions to delicious, coppery yumminess but does take me two hours. Seriously worth doing, and then freezing the base when vidalias are in season. Then I can whip out the frozen cooked onions and make soup in 45 minutes. I am now thinking this is what we should have for Sunday dinner! Thanks for the idea.
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Thank you so much for joining the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods! This week is the last week, and the theme is Healthy Fats (a subject near and dear to both our hearts). 😉
I made this recipe last winter and am absolutely ready to have it again! Sooooo good!
Katie
Amy says
Very similiar to my recipe, but we always use swiss cheese on top….nice flavor! Also, try champagne rather than the red wine, tastes yummy!
Kelly says
Oh my gosh, I love parmesan and this sounds so good! Thanks for sharing how to do this w/o a microwave!
Laura says
I just saw someone on the the food network make Parmesan cheese crisps. She made a pile of grated Parmesan cheese (the good stuff, not from the can) on a lined cookie sheet and then put it in the oven. It turned into a sort of cracker looking thing that would probably be great in soup. She molded it in a muffin tin and put a small salad in it. It turns crispy when it is cooled. I don’t remember the oven temp.
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Hi Anna,
I didn’t even know there was a recipe for French Onion Soup in NT, I’ll have to check that out and compare…
I don’t know what you mean by those cheese “flat crisps”, but I’d like to know more – I’m sure I could figure out how to do it without the microwave, though!
Kelly
Anna says
It’s been a while since I made FOS, but I think I made it a number of times with the NT recipe when I had a lot of homemade beef broth to use up. Super yum!
I use cave-aged Gruyere cheese, but instead of a crouton, I use a big slice of roasted cauliflower covered with shredded cheese. Sounds odd, I know, but mostly the crouton serves to hold the cheese, and the roasted cauliflower can do that, too.
I know someone else who makes microwaved 100% shredded hard cheese (usually parmesan) flat crisps and uses those instead of a crouton. I know we are trying to reduce our use of the microwave, but …..
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Julie,
Sorry, the package is long gone below a pile of icky trash, but I know it was made of paper, and found in the bakery section. It was made up north in Leelanaw.
Shauna,
I like your idea of serving it with a quiche. I had also used homemade stock from the freezer. I love having that on hand!
Kelly
Michigan Mom2three says
This looks like a good, authentic recipe Kelly. As a student, I lived abroad in France, went to school etc, and I came to ADORE French Onion Soup! Every cafe has their own “version” and a cafe is often judged by their “Soup A L’oignon” as much as anything else….
I use only beef stock, homemade, in mine. Also, les francais would use emmental or gruyere cheese (closest thing would be swiss here, although I find both emmental and gruyere at Sam’s Club of all places!)
My children devour this….. and I often make it along with a nice quiche for dinner in the winter.
Shauna
Julie L. says
Organic whole wheat sourdough bread from Meijer?! Do tell where you found this item! I knew they had sourdough bread, but figured it was nutritionally inferior to real sourdough bread. And the kind I saw was made with the usual “bleached, enriched…”
Enlighten me! 🙂 Thanks!