Onion Soup

While not really a weeknight dish, homemade onion soup makes a wonderful, very flavorful but heavy starter. It can also be a full dinner, especially if served with some more bread and a nice salad. Flambéing the soup at the table adds flavor and a fancy note.

Ingredients

• 3 lb / 1.5 kg red onions
• 2 oz / 60 g bacon, diced (small dice)
• butter
• 4 oz / 120 g bread, cut into 1 in / 2.5 cm cubes
• 1 qt / 1 l beef (or chicken) stock
• 2 cups / 480 ml water
• 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 10 oz / 300 g Swiss cheese, grated
• 6 oz / 180 g brie, cut into small pieces (optional)
• ½ cup / 120 ml Calvados or Slivovitz or some mix of the two (optional, flambé version only)

Preparation

1. Peel the onions, cut off the root end, cut in half and slice as thinly as possible. The slices should be of equal thickness (see Notes).
2. Set a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Render the bacon, but do not brown it too much.
3. Add butter. Melt. Add onions. Cook over medium heat until they release liquid. Stir frequently. Now you can turn up the heat to high and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated. Stir from time to time.
4. Reduce heat and slowly caramelize the onions. Stir frequently and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching.
5. When the onions are nicely browned and the bottom of the pan is covered with the caramelized juices, add ½ cup / 120 ml of water in very small steps, keep cooking and stirring, and wait until the water has evaporated before adding the next shot.
6. Add the remaining water and the stock. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped parsley.
8. While cooking the onions, set a pan over medium heat and toast the bread cubes on all sides. Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C.
9. Ladle the soup into 6 ovenproof bowls. Stick in some bread cubes and pieces of brie (optional). Top with grated Swiss cheese.
10. Bake until cheese turns bubbly and starts to brown.
11. To make Onion Soup Flambé (optional): Warm up the Calvados or Slivovitz; it should be a bit more than hand-warm. At the table: Pour over the hot(!) soup and cheese and light with a long match.

Notes

• Cooking onion soup is one of the few occasions where I think it's worth the effort to get my mandoline slicer out.
• For a vegetarian version: Replace the bacon with 2 tbsp of butter. Replace the stock with vegetable stock.
• When making the onion soup flambé be careful not to burn down the house. Make sure you don't spill any brandy and know where you can find your fire extinguisher.
• It works well to prepare onion soup in advance. Refrigerate after cooking the soup. Add bread cubes and cheese right before reheating and reheat in the oven for best results.

Preparation time about 2 hours

Yields 6 servings

My recipe combines my Mom's onion soup recipe (original source unknown) with some ideas from James Peterson – Glorious French Food: A Fresh Approach to the Classics.