At my house, soup isn’t a regular part of our meal rotation, but we do get a hankering for it here and there. One chilly day, I had a major craving for French Onion Soup which I hadn’t had in years. The timing was perfect because I actually had bread on hand – sourdough, my favorite! A quick internet search drew me to this recipe from the NY Times.
I had only made French Onion Soup once before and it was several years ago. Looking back, I’m certain I didn’t caramelize the onions properly. That certainly wasn’t the case this time! I followed the instructions for caramelizing to the T and I couldn’t stop myself from nibbling on a few of the caramelized slices before adding the remaining ingredients.
I did make some modifications:
- Didn’t add any sherry (this isn’t something I keep on hand)
- Added a few shakes of Worcestershire
- Used both red and yellow onion (the recipe calls for either)
- Added 2 cloves of minced garlic
- I had no gruyere on hand, so I melted Italian herbed mozzarella over the bread and casserole dish instead
- I also took the advice I saw in one of the reviews and toasted the bread before placing on top of the soup under the broiler
Other than shedding more than a few tears while slicing the onion, this recipe is painless to make. Caramelizing the onions is the most time consuming part of this recipe, but is an absolute must for a flavorful soup. Once you’ve finished preparing the onions, the rest of the recipe is quick.
I personally don’t think the type of cheese you use to top the bread with really matters. This recipe calls for gruyere which I do not keep on hand. The Italian herbed mozzarella worked just fine and I think I would have been just as happy with plain old cheddar.
It turned out so dang good and I was thrilled to have plenty of leftovers. It was even better the next day!