Fight the cold weather with this hearty soup! While French Onion Soup might not be the fastest recipe to make, this is an easy, foolproof recipe that you will LOVE.
We made it from scratch, including the beef broth, using our Extra Umami Beef Broth recipe. But you could easily buy some cartons of pre-made beef broth to speed up the process.
Thank you, Chas, for sharing your French Onion Soup recipe.
Why it works
The prosciutto is an indulgent touch that makes this recipe a unique take on the classic French Onion Soup. Caramelizing the onions is the secret trick to making this French Onion Soup deeply flavorful. The red wine helps too.
Chas' French Onion Soup
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Piping hot French Onion Soup is a great way to greet the cold winter weather. Watch the stale bread come back to life when coated with golden, bubbly gruyère and given a chance to soak up the delicious rich soup.
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 684kcal
Equipment
- Soup Pot
- Garlic Press
- Spatula
- Chopping Board
- Knife
- Spatula
- Measuring Cups
- Grater
- Mixing Bowl
- Baking Tray
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 g) butter, Amounts to 1/2 cup, 4 oz. or 8 tablespoons of butter.
- 5 (5) onion, Large
- 1 head (1 head) garlic, Cloves peeled
- 10 sprigs (10 sprigs) Thyme, Fresh
- 4 (4) Bay Leaves
- 20 slices (20 slices) Prosciutto
- 25 oz. (750 ml) Cabernet Sauvignon, 1 standard bottle, about 750 ml
- 2 quarts (1.89 l) Beef Broth, About 1.9 L. Use our Extra Umami Beef Broth recipe.
- 10 oz. (283.5 g) Gruyère, A large block of Gruyère cheese. Use as much as you like.
- 1 loaf (1 loaf) Bread, A French baguette or Italian loaf left out for a day is fine. We used old Italian torta in this recipe
Instructions
- Collect all the ingredients.
Prepare Soup Ingredients
- Slice onions thinly into 1/4 inch slices.
- Melt butter in a very large soup pot over medium heat.
- Add the sliced onions into the soup pot.
- Squeeze the garlic cloves through the garlic press.
- Add the fresh thyme and bay leaves to the soup pot.
- Mix evenly.
- Season with pepper.
- Season with salt.
- Allow the onions to brown and caramelize. It will take about 25 minutes so be patient. See the recipe notes for tips on caramelizing onions.
- When the onions look caramelized like so, turn the heat up to high.
- Add the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Mix in the wine. Allow the wine to evaporate, about 10 minutes.
- While waiting for the wine to evaporate, fish out the thyme and bay leaves. Discard.
- When the wine has fully evaporated and the onions are dry, add the flour.
- Lower the heat to medium. Stir the flour and allow to cook for 5 minutes. The flour should cook so it doesn’t have the raw flour flavor. But don’t let it burn.
- Add the beef broth. Bring the heat up to high.
- While waiting for the soup to boil, chop the prosciutto into thick slices.
- Add the prosciutto to the soup pot. Bring the soup to a simmer, about 10 minutes.
Prepare the cheese and bread
- In the meantime, preheat the broiler.
- Grate the gruyère.
- Prepare the bread. Chop into cubes if using an Italian loaf. If using baguette, slice instead.
- Arrange bowls on a baking sheet.
- Ladle the onion soup into each bowl until half full.
- Top each bowl with the bread cubes/slices.
- Sprinkle a generous heap of grated gruyère on top of the bread.
- Slide the baking sheet with bowls into the oven broiler.
- Monitor the soup to prevent the cheese and bread from burning. Broil for approximately 3 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
- Enjoy Chas’ French Onion Soup!
Notes
Beef Broth
Use our Extra Umami Beef Broth recipe if you want an amazing base for Chas' French Onion Soup recipe.Tips for caramelizing onions:
- Periodically stir the onions to avoid burning.
- Flip the onions and stir them around the pot.
- To speed up the caramelizing, place a pot lid over to steam the onions. It will allow them to cook faster. But you don’t want soggy onions, so it is important to take the lid off for at least 5 minutes at the end to ensure the water fully evaporates.
- Using only butter can be difficult because it has a lower smoking point. Add a dash of olive oil or canola oil if you find the pot is smoking too. much to avoid burning.
Credit
Thanks to Tyler Florence via the Food Network for his French Onion Soup. I referenced his recipe for some of the steps.Nutrition
Calories: 684kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 1677mg | Potassium: 472mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 755IU | Vitamin C: 8.3mg | Calcium: 520mg | Iron: 4mg
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Great recipe! I really like the addition of the prosciutto to the classic recipe.
Thank you. I hope you enjoyed the soup.