last night i attended a william's sonoma french inspired dinner party.. okay it was a virtual dinner party. it was in partnership with le creuset to show off the new (vintage inspired) mix & match dutch ovens, aren't they beautiful? i decided to bring a classic french onion soup as my dish. the perfect warm & cozy meal for a cold winter day! french onion soup is a rather minimal dish, as the soup itself is simply onions & beef stock. therefore, it is important to use a high quality beef stock & be patient while caramelizing those onions! it is a slow process, but the more caramelized the onions are, the better the final soup will be! i topped mine with baked, cheesey croutons made from a french baguette.. BUT you can also drop in cubes of crusty bread, sprinkle it generously with cheese & broil it until the cheese is melted & browned. the more cheese the better!
ingredients
for the soup
- 2 pounds yellow onions, sliced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme + 2-3 sprigs
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pinch raw sugar
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 6 cups beef stock (store bought or homemade)
- 1 cup beer (i used a light beer, can use a dark beer or dry wine)
- 1 bay leaf
for the croutons
- 1 french baguette
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 cup jarlsberg or swiss cheese, grated
directions
for the soup
- in a large pot on low heat add the onions, butter, olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt & pepper. cook for 20-25 minutes, until the onions soften & become translucent.
- turn heat to medium & add the raw sugar. stirring ofen, cook until the onions have turned a rich caramel brown. this will take another 15 minutes.
- add the beer to deglaze the pot, scrapping back in all the brown bits of flavour.
- add the beef stock, bay leaf & additional thyme sprigs. turn heat back to low & simmer for 25 minutes. while soup simmers, prepare the croutons.
for the croutons
- preheat oven to 400 degrees. slice baguette into 1/2 inch thick slices. brush each side with olive oil & sprinkle with a touch of salt & pepper.
- bake for 5 minutes, until the bread begins to brown. remove from heat & top with cheese. place back in oven for another 2-3 minutes, until the cheese fully melts.
- if you wish to brown the cheese, broil the croutons for 1-2 minutes.
to serve
- when ready to serve, remove bay leaf & thyme sprigs from soup, top with straight from oven croutons & sprinkle with fresh thyme.
this post is part of the williams sonoma 60th anniversary virtual dinner party with le creuset! check out the rest of the menu on instagram using the hashtag #wsglobalflavor & enter williams sonoma's contest to win a trip to france here.