Ron’s French Onion Soup Recipe
Total time: 3 hrs 25 minutes, which includes about 45 minutes of standing
Ingredients:
- 5 lbs onions (a combination of American Yellow and Vidalia)
- 2 tablespoons butter or oil
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/8 cup cognac
- 10 cups beef broth
- Salt and pepper
- French bread, toasted
- Gruyère cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Cream sherry (optional)
Method:
- Slice the onions while sitting comfortably at a table. Sauté the sliced onions in the butter or oil for 15 minutes.
Add sugar, salt, and pepper, and sauté at a higher temperature for about 45 minutes until onions caramelize. (Ron only needs to go to the stove every 8-10 minutes during this time. Otherwise, he takes a seat and enjoys his glass of wine.) - After the onions are slightly amber, add flour and turn heat to low, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Slowly add the cognac and flambé the mixture.
- Finally, add the broth, salt and pepper to taste, and cover and simmer for 2 hours. Ron recommends serving the soup the next day, after the onions and broth have had time to soak together.
- If you are serving the soup immediately, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit about 15 minutes before the soup is done.
- Before serving, remove some of the onions from the broth and prepare each individual bowl: fill the bowls with soup, and place toasted bread and generous amounts of Gruyère and Parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.
- If you do not have a soup dish that can bake in the oven, Ron recommends using two or three smaller pieces of toast, and microwaving individual bowls until the cheese on top melts.
Note: Depending on the type of onions you use, you may need to add a little Cream Sherry before serving. Ron uses a combination of the standard American Yellow onions along with the sweeter Vidalia onions.
Wine
French bordeaux from either the St Julien or
Magaux appellations