French Onion Soup
A simplified take on the classic Les Halles French onion soup, with deeply caramelized onions, a rich broth, and a broiled gruyere topped crock.
Ingredients
Soup
- 8 large white or yellow onions (or 12 medium onions)
- 2 quarts dark chicken stock or beef broth
- 6 oz butter
- 2 oz red wine or port
- 2 oz balsamic vinegar
- Gruyere cheese
Bouquet Garni
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3-4 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 bay leaf
Toasts
- 1 loaf baguette
- Olive oil
Instructions
Soup
- Get the butter melted before the onions go in. Melt the butter in a stock pot over medium-low heat.
- This is the step that makes or breaks the soup. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until they reach a deep medium brown. This will take 30 to 45 minutes -- do not rush it.
- Deglaze the pot with the wine. Add the wine and cook for about 2 minutes, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the balsamic vinegar. Stir it in and let it cook in for a minute.
- Add the broth. Pour in the dark chicken stock or beef broth and stir everything together.
- Let it simmer low and slow. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour to let the flavors come together.
Baguette Toasts
- Slice the baguette on a bias. Cut into pieces approximately 1/2 inch thick.
- Get some color on one side. Drizzle with olive oil and place on a sheet pan in the oven until browned.
- Flip and brown the other side. Pull once both sides have good color.
Making a Crock
- Ladle the soup into oven-safe crocks. Fill each crock most of the way, leaving room for the toasts and cheese.
- Top with toasts and a generous amount of cheese. Place 2 baguette toasts on top of the soup in each crock and grate a liberal amount of gruyere over the top.
- Melt and brown the cheese. Place the crocks under the broiler or use a kitchen torch to melt and lightly brown the cheese on top.
Video
Notes
The onions need real time and attention. If you rush this step, the entire soup suffers. Stir often and keep the heat at medium-low.
A kitchen torch gives you more control than a broiler and lets you brown the cheese evenly without risking the edges of the toast burning however for more than a few bowls the broiler is more efficient.
This recipe is based on the French onion soup served at Les Halles in New York City, the restaurant long associated with Anthony Bourdain.