French Onion Soup

French onion soup is hands down my favorite soup- and is surprisingly simple to make! All you need are some pantry staples, a bit of time and you are on your way to enjoying a bowl of deliciousness!

Ingredients:

4 yellow onions

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 c red wine

1 tbsp flour

1 quart (4 c) beef stock

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper, to taste

Soy sauce and fish sauce, to taste

6-8 oz gruyere cheese, shredded- I wish I had more gruyere TBH

French baguette, sliced into 1/2 inch slices

Some type of oil to toast your baguette- butter, olive oil, I happened to have chicken schmaltz from a roasted chicken that I used.

Instructions:

Peel and thinly slice your onions.

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add all of your onions and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat the onions in the fat, reduce heat to medium-low/low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes, or until the onions are deeply brown and caramelized.

While the onions are caramelizing, you can make your toasted baguette. Thinly slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices. Add some type of fat- olive oil, butter, garlic butter- I had chicken schmaltz from a roasted chicken that I used, but use whatever you have. Toast in the oven at 450 degrees for 5-6 minutes or until crispy. Season with salt.

When your onions are ready, add your red wine and cook until it is almost dry. Add the flour (this will just every so slightly thicken your broth), stir and cook for 1 minute.

Add the beef stock and bay leaves and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste, season with soy sauce and fish sauce until it tastes just how you like it! (I would start with 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tsp of fish sauce and go from there). This will not make your soup taste soy sauce-y or fish-y it will just make it incredibly umami.

Preheat the broiler of your oven.

Ladle the soup into a bowl, top with toasted baguette and a large mound of cheese. Put the bowl of soup on a baking sheet (this just makes it easier to take in and out of the oven) and in the top rack of the oven for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Enjoy!