Food Comics: New and Improved French Onion Soup

We are pleased to introduce Food Comics from The Chopping Block where our resident Cartoonist Tom O'Brien illustrates his cooking adventures. Tom used to make Alton Brown's version of his favorite soup, French Onion Soup, but he recently revised his recipe to include a few new tricks for you. 

Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe.

To learn more about soups, including making your own stock as the base, check out The Chopping Block's Essential Building Blocks class. This day-long class will provide the foundations any home cook needs to be successful in the kitchen. The next step is Culinary Boot Camp! 

Author: Tom O'Brien

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French Onion Soup

ingredients:

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 3 lbs onions, a mix of red and sweet
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 10 fl oz. beef consomme
• 10 fl oz beef broth
• 10 fl oz apple cider
• Bouquet garni made of thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh bread
• 1 clove garlic, skinned and cut in two
• grated Gruyere

instructions:

How to cook French Onion Soup

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter.
2. While the pot heats and the butter melts, cut the onions in half, peel them and slice into 1/8 inch slices.
3. Add the onions to the pot with a heavy pinch of salt and stir. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Uncover the pot, stir the onions and cook for another 10 minutes.
5. Turn the stove down to low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir less often at the beginning and more often towards the end.
6. Pro Tip: Use twice as much butter and onion in these last few steps, then remove half the caramelized onions to refrigerate or freeze for future use!
7. Next, add in the wine and deglaze the pot if needed. Simmer until the wine cooks down about half.
8. Add in the bouquet garni, consomme, broth, and cider. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
9. While the soup simmers, turn the broiler on to heat. Apply a liberal coating of butter to the bread and toast to a golden brown. Once the bread is toasted, rub
10. with the cut side of the garlic.
11. Once the soup has finished simmering, season with salt and pepper to taste. 
12. Turn off the heat and ladle into a broiler-safe bowl, top with garlic bread and then gruyere. Place the bowl under the broiler unto the cheese melts and starts to brown. About 1-2 minutes. Allow the bowl to cool before handling and enjoy!

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