Before I begin this week, I want to take a moment and thank you for following my blog. Blogging has been such a rewarding journey — unexpected in so many ways — and I’m grateful for you. I particularly love reading your comments when there’s a certain post you enjoy. It makes my side of blogging much more enjoyable than it already is — so thanks! 🙂
Don’t forget to enter my current GIVEAWAY! I’m giving away a $25 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods — make sure you enter. And look for some more giveaways through the rest of December. I’ll be posting them here and on Instagram so be sure to follow me for more chances to win awesome stuff!
Now — onto what you really came for — food!
There used to be this awesome restaurant in my city called The Cheese Cellar. They served the best French onion soup and caesar salad. We didn’t go there often as a family but when we did, I always ordered the soup and salad. It’s been closed for years now (20+ at least), but every now and again I start craving their French onion soup.
In honor of the world’s greatest, long gone but not forgotten French onion soup, this week I want to share a wonderful recipe for homemade French onion soup. In the spirit of true transparency, I’m not the creator of this recipe. Unfortunately, I’ve had it for so long I can’t remember where I got it from. To me, those tend to be the best recipes, the ones you find during a little browse online, like this keto french onion soup — it’s the tried and true ones you continue to go back to. But that also means I can’t attribute credit where credit is due. So to the person who created this amazing recipe for French onion soup, I say thank you.
Homemade French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 C unsalted butter
- 4 onions, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 C red wine
- 3-4 Tbsp flour
- 8 C vegetable broth
- 1/2 C soy sauce
- 1 baguette, sliced
- 1/2 lb grated Gruyere
Directions
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until the onions are very soft and caramelized.
Add the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry.
Discard the bay leaves and thyme. Dust the onions with flour and stir. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. Add vegetable broth and soy sauce, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer and cover with cheese. Broil for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden. Ladle the soup into bowls and float the cheese-covered baguette slices on top of the soup. Eat and enjoy. 🙂
Notes: If you have French onion soup crocks, it’s best to float the baguette over the soup and then put it back in the oven to brown the cheese. But if you don’t have those, it’s easy to do it in the oven first and then add the baguette. I should also mention I adapted this recipe to make it vegetarian-friendly. If you choose to make it the original way, use 2 quarts of beef broth in place of the vegetable broth, and omit the soy sauce completely.
This is a close second to the French onion soup I loved at The Cheese Cellar. No one will ever top that distinct recipe, but I’ve come to accept that. I also make a mean caesar salad but my dressing is nothing like the one they used to make either. Some things are better left as memories in our tastebuds.
And with that, I hope you find a chance to make this recipe. It’s amazing and really tastes great on a cold winter evening.
xo
TALK TO ME!
Do you still have a strong memory of a favorite meal at a long-gone eatery?
What’s your favorite winter soup?
Loading InLinkz ...Linking up with Confessions of a Mother Runner and A Whisk and Two Wands for Meatless Monday, and Marathons and Motivation for Fitness & Food.
