French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup is served as an appetizer at lunch and dinner, or a lunch main alongside a crusty roll with cheddar-port spread.
If a single item on the menu at Mrs. Mitchell’s had to step up and represent the reigning ethos of this local dining treasure, the French onion soup with sage and sherry would be a lead contender.
Chef Derrick Shedlosky has tweaked this classic ever so slightly, adding fresh chopped sage leaf for an earthy note and swapping out cognac and red wine for sherry to add a touch of sweetness. It’s served as an appetizer at lunch and dinner, or a lunch main alongside a crusty roll with cheddar-port spread.
French Onion Soup
Serves
4–6
Ingredients
- 1 large Spanish onion
- 2 red onions
- 2 Vidalia onions
- 2 cups chopped shallots
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 cup sherry (or Canadian apera)
- 2 tbsp chopped thyme
- 2 tbsp chopped sage
- 12–13 cups beef stock
- 3 cups croutons
- 500 g Swiss cheese
Instructions
- Slice all onions thinly. There should be about 2 cups of each kind of onion.
- Add oil to coat the bottom of a deep soup pot. When oil is nice and hot, add sliced onions.
- Cook on medium heat until onions are caramelized and deep brown.
- Deglaze pot with sherry, scraping up any onion bits sticking to the pan.
- Add herbs and stir.
- Add stock and bring to a boil. Let simmer uncovered for 1–1½ hours until stock is reduced by about a third.
- When broth is ready, preheat oven to 350ºF. Spoon broth into bowls and top with croutons and cheese, making sure no croutons are left exposed.
- Bake for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Serve.
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I made this and it was delicious. I did make some tweaks – a bit of salt to the onions, and about half a tablespoon of sugar to help with the browning. To the final soup I added maybe half a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar for depth and brightness, and a finely chopped raw onion (a la Julia Child). I’d do it again but maybe just add the balsamic vinegar to the onions while cooking them down. I also used some good buns sliced in half and toasted instead of the croutons. Really lovely. One decent bowl and a salad made a very satisfying meal. Next time though I’ll either make, or more likely: buy some quality beef stock.
Kim from Mulmur on Dec 15, 2017 at 6:35 pm |