🧅
soup · Best in winter

French Onion Soup

Time1 hr 30 min
DifficultyMedium
Serves4
Seasonwinter
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Deeply caramelized onions — the slow kind, not the shortcut kind — simmered in beef broth and topped with a sourdough crouton buried under melted gruyère. A winter soup that takes patience and rewards every minute of it. The transformation of a pile of onions into something this good feels like alchemy.

Ingredients

🌱 From Your Homestead

  • onions (5 large, thinly sliced — any variety)
  • fresh thyme (3 sprigs)

🛒 From the Store

  • beef broth (6 cups)
  • dry white wine or sherry (1/2 cup)
  • butter (3 tbsp)
  • olive oil (1 tbsp)
  • flour (1 tbsp)
  • sourdough bread (4 thick slices)
  • gruyère (2 cups shredded)
  • bay leaf (1)
  • salt
  • pepper

How to Make It

  1. Gather your ingredients: onions (5 large, thinly sliced — any variety), fresh thyme (3 sprigs), beef broth (6 cups), dry white wine or sherry (1/2 cup), butter (3 tbsp), and the rest.
  2. Prep your homestead ingredients — wash, chop, and measure: onions (5 large, thinly sliced — any variety), fresh thyme (3 sprigs).
  3. Real caramelization takes 45 minutes over medium-low heat — there are no shortcuts. Stir every 5 minutes and scrape up the fond (brown bits) from the bottom with a wooden spoon. When the onions are deep golden-brown and jammy, deglaze with the wine. Adding sugar is cheating and tastes like it.
  4. Cook for approximately 1 hr 30 min. Adjust to taste and serve 4 portions.
  5. Plate, enjoy, and share with your household!
🥚
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