Soupe A l'Oignon

For tonight's dinner I made some French Onion Soup, or Soupe A l'Oignon as it is originally known.  It was a big hit, even with the baby which shocked me!  I take a classic approach where the onion slices are very slowly caramelized throughout the day, and although it is very time consuming, it is totally worth the patience for the amazing flavor that cannot be rushed!  The best part about this soup is that it can be frozen, so although it takes a day to make the big batch, the soup will last in the freezer over the next year, so anytime we want more we just have to thaw and top it!  Here is my original recipe, based upon techniques I learned in during my classical French cooking training at culinary school as well as a few tips I learned from two restaurants and personal preference.


Soupe A l'Oignon


Soup Base:


10 lbs sweet onions
16 oz. cooking sherry
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 Tbsp salt
1/8 cup roasted garlic paste*
1 gallon beef stock*
1 gallon water
1/2 cup malt vinegar
2 Tbsp pepper
4 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped


-Slice all of the onions in half, lengthwise, through the root.  Leave the root intact, but cut off the papery end, and pull off the outermost onion layer of each onion half.
-Cut the onions into thin slices, try to make them all as uniform as you can, mine are usually about 1/8" thick, that way they will cook evenly.
-Place a large roasting pan, or broiling pan over two burners on the stove (the pan should be flat and be at least a 2" thick) and turn the heat to medium.
-Depending on the size of the pan you use for this part, you may have to cook the onions in two (or four) batches. 
-Divide up the olive oil into equal parts for the amount of onion batches you will need to cook.
-Pour 1/2 cup (or 1/4 if doing 4 batches) oil into the pan, and stir to cover the bottom.
-Divide the onion slices up into equal parts for each batch.
-Place the onions in the hot oil, and stir to coat.
-Sprinkle 1 Tbsp (or 1/2 if doing 4 batches) salt over the onions, this will help to leach out the liquid fromt the onions, and pull out that extra flavor.
-Sweat the onions until they are soft and clear, stirring every so 10 minutes or so.  If some "burns on the bottom" that's fine just scrape it into the rest of the onions.
-When all of the onions have been sweated, drain and reserve the liquid leftover from the onions, then place the "dry" onions back into the pan to begin caramelizing them by turning up the heat on the stove slightly, add all of the onions (or 1/2 if doing 4 batches) and stir/scrape the bottom of the pan every 15-20 minutes, the onions should start to color, and as you mix in the "burnt" looking parts, the overall color will turn a golden brown.
-Continue cooking (don't be too eager to stir too frequently, letting them sit is what caramelizes the natural sugars and gives the soup it's signature flavor!) until the overall color is a nice medium brown, darker than brown sugar, but lighter than maple syrup.
-Scoop the onions out of the pan, and set off to the side.
-Pour the sherry into the bottom of the pan, and deglaze by stirring around over medium heat scraping all of the fond (or delicious "burnt" bits and dark spots off of the bottom), continue cooking until all of the alcohol has been burned off, you will know when this is done when it no longer smells like alcohol, but the sherry itself.  It's kind of hard to explain, but you will understand what the alcohol smells like while it is burning off, and when that burning in your nose is gone, it is done.
-Add the caramelized onions and onion liquid into a large pot (or two) that is big enough to fit just over 2 gallons, with room to stir, and add the sherry to the pot.
-Add the garlic paste, thyme, parsley, pepper, and the remaining salt and stir to combine.
-Pour in the vinegar, stock, and water and bring the whole thing to a boil.
-Once the soup has come to a boil, turn down the heat to a low simmer and continue to cook for another 2 hours for all of the flavors to marry together.
-Ladle the soup into 8 oven-safe crocks (there will be plenty of leftover, but each should have about 1 pint of soup) leaving about 1" of room for the topping.


Soup Topping:


2 loaves crusty Italian bread
2 lbs good Swiss cheese (I prefer Gruyere), grated


-Turn on the oven to the broil setting.
-Slice the bread into 1/4" thick slices, and place them evenly on a baking sheet.
-Put them under the broiler for about 1-2 minutes on each side until the "croutons" are crispy and golden brown and dried out.
-Top each crock of soup with enough croutons to just cover (Ours have about 5 each).
-Cover the croutons evenly with the shredded cheese, about 4 oz. each
-Put the crocks on a baking sheet and broil for 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown on the top.
-Allow the soup to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving each crock on a plate, warn your guests that the soup will be VERY hot!

I love this soup this time of year, there is nothing better than a warm and rich soup on a chilly day, and this one is a particular favorite because of the delicious cheese, and the fact that it is relatively cheap to make which is great around the holidays!  We like to put about 1/2 gallon of soup each into 3 or 4 1-gallon freezer bags, and freeze until you have a craving for this warming soup again!

*Below are my recipes for beef stock as well as how to create roasted garlic paste.


Beef Stock


10 lbs beef bones (ask your local butcher or meat department of your grocery store if they carry them, and ask if they will cut them lengthwise, if not it's fine)
2 can tomato paste
4 large onions
5 lbs carrots
2 whole bunches of celery
16 oz. red cooking wine
1/8 cup whole peppercorns
1/8 cup garlic cloves
2 whole bay leaves
1/4 cup salt
1 bunch thyme
2 gallons water


-Preheat the oven to 400 deg. F.
-Roast the beef bones in a roasting pan evenly for about 1 hour.
-Spread the tomato paste over the bones with a spatula.
-Return the pan to the oven for an additional 30 minutes.
-Remove as much of the bones and tomato from the pan as possible and place the pan over two burners on the stove.
-Over medium-high heat pour in the red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping all of the fond off the bottom and stirring to incorporate all of the pieces until the alcohol has burned off.
-Wash the onions, carrots, and celery, and cut the onions in half lengthwise, but don't trim off any parts of the vegetables.  
-Take the bones (which should be cool enough to hold) and scrape out the marrow inside with a spoon, putting the marrow and empty bones into the bottom of a large (or two smaller) stockpot that can hold at least over 2 gallons.
-Add the vegetables to the stockpot as well as the spices and herbs.
-Cover with the water and bring to a boil.
-Once the liquid comes to a boil, turn down the heat to low and simmer for 10-24 hours (depending on the time you have and your patience!) stirring every hour or so.
-Strain the liquid after the cooking is complete, and package as you need (I like to put mine into 2 cup portions in sandwich sized plastic freezer bags, and then freeze them flat until I am ready to use some).


This stock is so good, and has a nicer, more complex flavor than the stuff you buy in the cartons at the store.  Seriously, it's cheaper, has less sodium, and tastes better... Why wouldn't you make your own stock?!


Roasted Garlic


5 whole heads of garlic
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
10 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from the stems


-Preheat oven to 350 deg. F
-Cut off tops of the garlic (the papery side, not the root side) to just expose some of the garlic cloves, but leave the heads intact.
-Arrange the garlic in a pie tin or on a square of foil that has edges folded upward (so it looks like a box lid).
-Pour the oil over the garlic heads, into the crevices as much as you can.
-Sprinkle the whole thyme leaves over the tops of the garlic and place the tin in the center of the oven.
-Cook for 30-45 minutes until the garlic feels soft when you squish it and looks golden but not dark brown.
-Allow the garlic to cool completely before removing it from the tin.
-Remove the papery skin, and set the garlic on a cutting board.
-Using the wide flat side of a large chef's knife (this is generally 8" or 10" long and usually has the widest blade in a set) place the heel of your hand on the flat side, and push down and away from yourself on top of the garlic.  
-Repeat until the garlic becomes a sticky paste without any remaining chunks, this shouldn't be very difficult since the garlic is so soft and a little pressure goes a long way.
-Add the garlic paste to a jar with the remaining oil in the pie tin and store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.


I hope you guys like the soup and other helpful recipes to make cheap, better tasting condiments!