French onion soup is one of my favorite meals; there's something about the gooey cheese hanging out of the spoonfuls of rich onion broth, just oozing with delicious winter comfort.
Fortunately, onion soup is one of the easiest little dishes to prepare. And you don't need very many things at all. Onion soup grew out of the constraints of poor people making do with what they had, and yet its simple preparation rewards with rich taste far beyond the sum of its parts. All you really need is an onion, some butter and broth, some wine if you have it - or water if you don't - and salt and pepper. Sure, it can be fancied up a little more, but those are the basics.
Quick and Easy Onion Soup
makes about 3 cups
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups broth - beef is best but chicken or vegetable will do
1 cup white wine - or water
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese
Peel and finely slice the onion into half moons. Slice these in half again. Heat the butter over medium heat, then add the onions. Stir and cook over medium heat until they are slightly caramelized and soft - about 6 or 7 minutes. Don't let them get too dark or the soup will be bitter.
Add the flour and stir until the onions are coated. Add the broth and wine, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover the soup. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes or so, lifting the lid at the end to let it reduce a little. Taste and season. Serve with fresh grated cheese and good bread.
This sounds nice and quick and easy, Faith. One of the ways to "fancy it up" a little is to toast slices of that good bread, then float them in the bowls of soup and put the cheese [plenty of it] on the toast slices and stick the bowls under the broiler for a few minutes to melt and slightly brown the cheese.
mushroom broth would be excellent too.
moosewood has a really good recipe that doesn't require any broth at all; although one time I used the water left over from making chickpeas from dry and that worked really well.
I'm just always wondering what to do with all the onions- the recipe uses TONS. I generally caramelize them while we're having dinner (stir every 5 minutes); but then- what recipes are they good in? (haven't found any favorites yet...)
2T, mushroom broth sounds good, might try that sometime. my husband and i sometimes use beef stock in our onion soup--makes it pretty decadent and rich but it's so good!
I appreciate short cuts, but I think French Onion Soup is one of those dishes where the time invested really does pay off. When I make it I slowly caramelize 6 onions in butter in the biggest pot I own, then add wine, beef broth, a little bit of dijon mustard. Caramelizing that many onions takes 45 minutes to an hour, but the flavor has so much depth that I think it's worth it. When I'm ready to serve, I ladle the soup into individual bowls with some toasted bread on top and gruyere and put it in the broiler for a few minutes.
I also like caramelized onions on baked potatoes, or on hamburgers with some melted chevre. They work really well in a simple salad with chevre, too.
I agree with v in boston--caramelizing onions slowly really pays off in sweetness and general flavor. My husband and I have a New Year's tradition of making the onion soup from the Bouchon cookbook, which involves 8 lbs of sliced onions, cooked slowly for 5+ hours. Mmm!
As caramelizing the onions takes a long time make a large batch and freeze enough for another pot.
Oregano makes a world of difference to this recipe.
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