French Onion Soup Gratiné
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French Onion Soup Gratiné! This is one of the most requested recipes from our friends and family. Our French Onion Soup is creamy and topped with layers of crispy cheese!
It’s the first thing we crave with the weather starts to cool off and we want to fill our house with the comforting scents of home cooking.
This is one of the longer recipes in my collection, but the time is so worth it!
The science behind my methods
Sometimes I love taking a little extra time and effort to make a dish. It’s that time and attention that really comes to life in the dish and there’s also the matter of taking time to get a chemical reaction out of your ingredients that changes them from simple to fantastic!
For instance, we use a touch of salt along with salted butter in the beginning to start the onions carmelizing. You can use sugar to carmelize onions, but in this soup, you don’t want it to get sweet. So salt works best! But this means you will want to taste your soup before adding more salt later.
Why use wine and balsamic?
In addition to giving your soup a lovely acidity, adding balsamic also deepens the red color that can get a little muddy.
Sherry wine is a great option for it’s smoke like flavoring. But any red wine works great.
Why does this take so long?
French onion soup isn’t a quick soup to make. That’s because you want to completely cook those onions down to a syrupy mush so they melt in your mouth and aren’t chewy.
Why not use broth?
I started swapping out beef or chicken broth when my family became vegetarians. Broths are often salty and don’t carry a solid flavor in this would. But we do increase the herbs and wine in this recipe to create a broth with your onions.
Tip: For extra flavor include the rind from a hard cheese like Asiago or Parmesan in the last 10 minutes of cooking. You will remove the rind, but it leaves a lovely flavor behind.
French Onion Soup Gratiné
Buttery and cheesy, this creamy soup is delicious hot out of the oven with layers of crisp cheese and bread.
In a large pot, over low-medium heat, melt butter, parsley, and slowly add in your onions and a teaspoon of salt. Stirring regularly, cook your onions for 35-45 minutes until they are soft and lightly browned.
Once your onions are soft and brown, gently stir in your 1/2 of your water, wine, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic. Add in your spices and simmer on low-medium heat for 35 minutes. Continue to slowly add more water as your broth starts to cook down. If you are using fresh herbs, bundle them together with twine or in a teabag. You will remove the herbs once you are done cooking. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Preheat your broiler. In broiler-safe crocks, fill each crock 2/3 full with your soup mixture, then add your toast or croutons. Top with cheese and broil for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Serve immediately!
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Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, over low-medium heat, melt butter, parsley, and slowly add in your onions and a teaspoon of salt. Stirring regularly, cook your onions for 35-45 minutes until they are soft and lightly browned.
Once your onions are soft and brown, gently stir in your 1/2 of your water, wine, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic. Add in your spices and simmer on low-medium heat for 35 minutes. Continue to slowly add more water as your broth starts to cook down. If you are using fresh herbs, bundle them together with twine or in a teabag. You will remove the herbs once you are done cooking. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Preheat your broiler. In broiler-safe crocks, fill each crock 2/3 full with your soup mixture, then add your toast or croutons. Top with cheese and broil for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. Serve immediately!
