French Onion Soup

French Onion happens to be my mother's favorite kind of soup. I have had a "go-to" recipe for years that I have adored, and it has gotten good reviews from friends and family. While I was skiing at Whistler (really Blackcomb, since we liked that mountain better) in March, my sisters and I ate twice at this lovely restaurant on the mountain, Christine's. They had amazing French Onion Soup. Chatting with the waitress, she mentioned that the chef uses his grandmother's recipe, and that he uses both red and yellow onions. I don't know why it had never occurred to me to put red onions into my soup, but let me tell you, they add an incredible depth of flavor.

The recipe I started from is an old Southern Living favorite, Bistro Onion Soup, tweaked a little bit (as usual). It's from Southern Living Homestyle Cooking, a favorite that lives on my cookbook shelf. Maybe one of these days I'll do a post of my favorite cook books. Just last week I tried mixing in red onions and the result was to-die-for. I also intend to try the soup in the next week or two, substituting canned stock for the bouillon and water, which I suspect will be even better, although it's difficult to imagine because, as it is, this soup is delicious.

I love this soup because it makes the house smell wonderful, and it tastes sinfully rich without being heavy. It's also fairly quick, as long as you have a mandolin to speed up the slicing. I usually do not bother to top it with bread and cheese, because it's perfectly capable of standing on its own. I was visiting my mother last weekend, and while I started the soup, I had to run out before it was done. Leaving my mother in charge of finishing it, she naturally ran to the store to get bread and cheese to top it. Healthy soup no more I suppose. It also freezes really well. For tips on a convenient way to freeze soup, check out this post over on Corporette.

French Onion Soup (makes 4 servings)

1/4 c. butter (half of a stick)
2 large sweet onions
2 large red onions
2 Tbs. flour
5 1/4 c. water
1 c. wine*
4 chicken bouillon cubes
4 beef bouillon cubes
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried sage
1/4 tsp. black pepper
8 (1/2 inch) slices of french bread (optional)
8 slices Gruyère cheese (optional)

*The original recipe calls for 1/2 c. dry white wine and 1/2 c. dry red wine. I am a lightweight and can't usually get through two bottles of wine before they go bad. I use 1 c. of whatever wine I happen to have on hand (that I naturally would drink). I find that the white wine gives a lighter flavor and the red more of a deeper, richer flavor, but play with it to find the combination you like.

Melt the butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Thinly slice the onions into your pot. I highly, highly recommend using a mandolin for this, because you get nice even rings and it is very quick, and I actually rest mine on top of the pot so that the onions fall directly in. This will look like a lot of onions; do not be alarmed; they will cook down significantly.

Cook the onion in the butter over medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring often, until the onions have reached a deep golden caramel. This step is the key step in getting the depth of flavor that takes the soup from tasty to out-of-this-world. The deeper the color, the deeper the flavor.

Once you are satisfied with the color, stir in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Add the water, wine, bouillon, bay leaves, salt, sage, and pepper. Let the soup come to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. You can actually let the soup simmer longer, depending on when you're ready for dinner. Remove the bay leaves.

Optional Step: Ladle the soup into 4 ovenproof ramekins or soup bowls. Set the bowls on a baking sheet so as to catch any drips and reduce the chances of tipping them over while removing them. Place two bread slices and top with two slices of cheese on each serving, and broil about 6 inches from the heat until the cheese is golden and bubbly (only a few minutes).