Tuesday, February 24, 2009

French Red Onion Soup

I think I have mentioned it before, but I can't sit still and do just one thing at a time. On Sunday while I was watching the Oscars, I was Twittering and I was also making this soup. I find I can be much more productive this way. Do you guys multitask like this or am I just strange? I love French onion soup, but I don't often find myself with hours to spend over a pot of caramelizing onions. I know it is not traditional to use red onions in this kind of soup, but trust me, it's really good. Since I wasn't sure if my bowls were broiler-safe, I did the toasts on a sheet pan lined with foil. Watch them closely, they really only take a minute or two. Since I didn't want to have an entire baguette for myself, I sliced up a french role. The soup has great flavor and went perfectly with the bread and cheese. This is great, warming food that won't make you feel guilty (just go easy on those cheesy toasts).


French Red Onion Soup
(Adapted from Gourmet, September 2008)

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 whole star anise
3 black peppercorns
1 lb red onions, sliced (I used a little over a pound)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons dry red wine
Baguette or french roll, sliced
Grated Gruyere or Manchego

Bring broth, water, spices, and 1/4 tsp salt to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook onions in oil with a pinch salt in a heavy medium pot over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until deep golden, about 15 minutes. Add wine and boil, uncovered, until reduced to 2 Tbsp, about 1 minute. Strain broth through a sieve into onion mixture and briskly simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Season with additional salt if necessary.

Preheat broiler.

Place baguette slices on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprinkle each with some of the cheese. Broil about 6 inches from heat until cheese is melted and bubbling, about 2 minutes.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

16 comments:

Diana said...

I'm the same way with the multitasking -- I am almost always glued to my laptop when I watch TV. And in the morning, I stretch while I'm blow drying my hair. I'm sure I look ridiculous!

veggie belly said...

The cheesy bread looks so good! Yes, I multi task too and I prefer it that way :)

Anonymous said...

oh myyyy this is my boyfriends favorite soup in the whole world!! Thank you for the recipe! :)

Anonymous said...

I adore this soup too. In one of my first jobs I was asked to test recipes for this - i cried into the onions for a day (have a severe reaction to them) but couldn't tell the food editor this....still, I managed in the end!

Anonymous said...

Mmmmmmmmmmm . . . favourite soup of all time!

vanillasugarblog said...

I am such a multi-tasker! I love, no thrive on doing more than one thing at a time.
It's friggin 28 degrees out, send me some soup already!

Reeni said...

I'm a multi-tasker too! I love this soup. Ultimate comfort food with those cheesy toasts!

Heather said...

yum! nick prefers red onions to white/yellow, so he'd get all excited about this! looks so delicious :)

Esi said...

Thanks everyone!

Diana, when I am at home, I am rarely without my laptop (unless I am cooking, lol)

Veggie belly, the cheesy bread was too good!

Fiona, I cry just looking at onions, but I love to eat them so I deal with it.

Aleta, I am right there with you!

Anonymous said...

This looks great. I've been wanting to make an onion soup with fennel, and now I'm inspired.

Hayley said...

French onion is my favorite! Thanks for sharing!!!

Sharon said...

French onion soup has never been my favorite, but you make it look so good!

I'm guilty of multitasking at all moments of my life. In fact, I'm watching TV, baking a loaf of bread, typing you a note, and eating yogurt all at the same time!

Anonymous said...

I'm so impressed that you can cook and Twitter at the same time! I've tried but I end up getting olive oil all over the iPhone screen :-) I love onion soup - I'm sure red onions work fine (it looks like they do!).

Erica said...

oh my gosh I am a huge multitasker. I feel like I'm wasting time if I'm ony doing one thing haha. Maybe not so healthy? Love onions and I bet this soup is amazing with the red onions. Hope you had a good weekend!

Olga said...

The soup looks great, but I'm all about those cheese bread thingies :)

Alicia Foodycat said...

You know how I love onion soup! Beautiful (even if you used red onions).