Caramelized French Onion Soup
A deeply savory soup built from onions cooked slowly until mahogany, beef stock, thyme, and a splash of sherry. Each bowl gets a toasted baguette cap and enough bubbling Gruyère to stretch from the spoon, making the patient stovetop time entirely worthwhile.
- Course
- Soups
- Time
- 1 hr 35 min
- Servings
- 6
Cooking Notes
- Caramelize the onions slowly and do not rush the color with excessive heat. Properly browned onions become deep amber and sweet throughout instead of blackened at the edges and raw inside.
- Deglaze the pot as browned bits build up so they dissolve back into the onions instead of burning. Repeating that process layers more flavor into the broth.
- Toast the bread before it goes on the soup and broil the cheese only at the end. A sturdy toast resists turning to mush immediately under the hot broth and melted cheese.
Recipe Card
Caramelized French Onion Soup
By Gabriella
- Category
- Soups
- Total Time
- 1 hr 35 min
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 lbs yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup dry sherry
- 7 cups low-sodium beef stock
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 12 baguette slices, toasted
- 2 cups Gruyère, grated
- Black pepper
Instructions
- 1
Melt the butter in a heavy pot, add the onions and salt, and cook over medium-low heat for fifty to sixty minutes, stirring more often as they darken.
- 2
When the onions are a rich chestnut color, stir in the flour and cook for two minutes so the finished broth will have a little body.
- 3
Pour in the sherry and scrape every browned bit from the pot, then add the stock, thyme, bay leaf, and several grinds of pepper.
- 4
Simmer uncovered for twenty-five minutes, remove the herbs, taste, and adjust the salt before ladling the soup into oven-safe bowls.
- 5
Float two baguette slices on each bowl, cover with Gruyère, and broil until the cheese is melted, blistered, and beginning to brown.
