Okay, so I tried making French onion soup today. It sounded fancy and I figured, why not? I’ve seen it on menus at restaurants, and it always looks so good, all that melted cheese on top. So I grabbed my biggest pot and got started.
First, I got, like, a ton of onions. I think I used four or five big ones? I was chopping for what felt like forever. My eyes were watering so much, I could barely see! I sliced them up as thin as I could, but it was a lot of work. I remember reading somewhere that cutting them under running water helps, but that’s a myth and waste of water!
Next, I melted some butter in the pot. A whole stick, actually. Then I threw in all those onions and just let them cook. And cook. And cook. I had no idea it would take so long. It was probably, like, over an hour on medium heat? I had to keep stirring them so they wouldn’t burn. They slowly turned this golden brown color and got all soft and sweet smelling. This part, I have to say, smelled amazing. It made my whole kitchen smell like a fancy restaurant.
After the onions were finally done, I added some beef broth. I just used the store-bought kind, nothing fancy. I also threw in some thyme and a bay leaf, because that’s what the recipe said. I let that simmer for a while longer, maybe another 30 minutes? I was getting pretty hungry by this point.
Then came the fun part! I ladled the soup into these little oven-safe bowls I have. I put a slice of bread on top of each one, and then piled on a bunch of grated Gruyere cheese. Oh man, the cheese. It was so good. I put the bowls under the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese was all bubbly and melted and golden brown.
- Chopped a mountain of onions.
- Melted butter in a big pot.
- Cooked the onions for like, an eternity.
- Added beef broth, thyme, and a bay leaf.
- Simmered some more.
- Put soup in bowls, topped with bread and cheese.
- Broiled until the cheese was all melty and delicious.
Here’s a rough breakdown of what I did:
It was definitely a lot more work than I expected, but you know what? It was pretty darn good. The soup was rich and flavorful, and the cheesy bread on top was amazing. I’d say it was worth the effort. Maybe next time I’ll invite some friends over and impress them with my new soup-making skills!
The most important lesson is that caramelizing onions takes longer time and you need to be patient!
