My French Onion Soup

One little tweak makes this so much easier to make—and to manage with a spoon.

While I don’t have my own photo of French Onion Soup, this one is by Emi Popova via Flickr gets to the heart of my recipe well.

The success of French Onion Soup depends on a great cheese (use one of the options mentioned) and the broth. If you can, make your own broth. If not, try a superior product from a place like Whole Foods.

My version calls for toasting the cheese-toasts separately from the soup. I do this for a number of reasons. It’s easier, and you don’t have to worry about buying broiler-safe soup bowls (because the bowls themselves don’t go under the broiler). Also, confining the cheese to the toasts—and serving the soup in shallow bowls—makes it easier to cut into the toast while you’re eating it (once the soup softens the bread).

This recipe is from my book, Everyday French Cooking: Modern French Cuisine Made Simple.

Makes 4 hearty first-course servings or 4 light main-dish servings

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bread
1 1/2 pounds onions, sliced into thin half-moons
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4 cups beef broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 slices French bread, toasted
1 garlic clove, halved
1 cup shredded Comté, Gruyère, or Emmental cheese (about 4 ounces)
Chopped fresh parsley and/or chives (optional)

1. In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter in the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened but not brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they are slithery, tender, and just starting to take on a lightly golden-brown hue in places, about 40 minutes.

2. Stir in the flour with a wire whisk; cook and stir for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the broth, then the wine. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer the soup for 15 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

3. Preheat the broiler.

4. Rub one side of each slice of toasted French bread with the garlic halves (then discard the garlic); brush that side of the bread with some olive oil. Place the bread slices, oiled sides up, on a baking sheet. Divide the cheese among the slices. Watching carefully, broil 3 to 4 inches from the heat until the cheese is bubbly and light brown in spots, about 1 minute.

5. Divide the soup among four shallow bowls; top each with a cheese-topped toast slice sprinkled with parsley and/or chives, if you like. Serve.