French onion soup is something I have always loved to enjoy at a French restaurant. However, I realize that the quality of ingredients may not be to my standards, especially the bread. I am excited to share this recipe with you. I shared it on my YouTube channel several years ago, but the sound and the picture quality were off. Therefore, I decided to make a new video with simplified directions.
I first started appreciating French cooking when I was on the GAPS diet. In my experience, French restaurants serve dishes more frequently with real food than other conventional restaurants. It is heavily advised to not eat out on the GAPS diet unless you know what every ingredient is. This can be difficult, but I did not have much of a choice several years ago when my job required me to travel. I was able to work with my situation and I do have good tips for eating healthy while at a restaurant or on the road.
I also want to mention that French onion soup is a great Lenten meal. It is nice to have more options for Lenten meals. I have been extending that to all Fridays during the year. As Catholics, we are no longer required to abstain from meat on Fridays outside of Lent, but we still are required to make a sacrifice of some kind on those days.
Broth and animal fats are allowed on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Fridays during Lent. Keep in mind that as a Catholic, you are supposed to be making a sacrifice on those days. Personally, not eating meat on those days is a big sacrifice for me. I always feel like there is something missing, that I am not satisfied, and that I am longing for more. If you feel like it is not a sacrifice, maybe you will want to consider eating this soup on a different day.
I hope you enjoy the recipe. Let me know what you think in the comments!
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick or more of grass fed butter
- 6 small or 3 large onions, thinly sliced
- 3 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 cup organic red wine (I used Bonterra merlot)
- 1 tsp organic thyme
- Organic black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 or 2 blocks of gruyere cheese, shredded
- 8 cups homemade beef broth
- Homemade sourdough bread or baguette, sliced
- Himalayan salt to taste
Instructions
- Melt broth in a large pot (if frozen or refrigerated).
- Thinly slice onions.
- Roughly chop garlic cloves.
- Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Add thinly sliced onions and set timer for 25 minutes. Watch the pan carefully and adjust the heat lower, if needed.
- Sprinkle salt over onions and grind black pepper over onions (to taste).
- Stir onions periodically.
- While the onions are sautéing, prepare the other ingredients. Shred the cheese, salt your broth (if needed), slice your bread.
- After the onions have caramelized, add in the thyme and garlic and stir.
- Add red wine, turn up heat to medium high and bring mixture to a boil. Allow to simmer.
- While waiting for the mixture to reduce, turn on your broiler. Butter each slice of bread and stick in the oven. Broil for a couple of minutes or until the slices are toasted.
- Once the onion and wine mixture has reduced, add it to your broth.
- Ladle the broth into bowls, top with cheese and toasted bread. Bon appetit!
