Six kinds of onions cook together to make this comforting, fragrant and delicious winter soup. Topped with baked Parmesan crisps, you can still enjoy all the flavors of classic French Onion Soup, but with less guilt.
Hello! Happy Friday!
If this isn’t your first time here, you may notice things look a bit different around here. You may also notice that I have changed my blog name to match. Your eyes are not fooling you and you are most definitely not in the wrong place. It’s still me, Jessica, the cook, photographer, mom, and wanna-be-writer, behind what was formerly Coffee and Crayons, but now The Forked Spoon. I have been hinting at big changes coming to this site for quite some time, and finally, after months and months and months, the day has arrived to show off this pretty new site with all of you.
As with any big change, there will be a period of adjustment and transition, so please please bear with me as I work to sort through each and every post to update tags and categories and recipe cards.
So, what can you expect from The Forked Spoon?
- Food. So much food.
- Stories. Depending on who you are, you may love or hate my stories. To be honest, some days they’re pretty boring and other days they’re pretty funny. But, Google SEO requires at least 300 words per post or the post is not considered real, so, there you have it. Either way, there will be food. If you don’t care to read about what inspired me to make this Onion Soup, that’s totally ok. Simply click the “JUMP TO RECIPE” tab at the top of each post and you can skip all my nonsense 🙂
- Travel. More travel. Traveling is the love of my life- after my husband and child, of course. next up? New Zealand and Tahiti all of Feb! (don’t worry, there will still be many scheduled recipe posts)
- Recipe Index. Finding a recipe or recipe inspiration has never been so easy! Now you can search by ingredient. You’re welcome.
- Printable Recipes. Ok, you guys, so these are going to take some time to get updated and filled in entirely, but moving forward all recipes will be printable! I will be working on old posts slowly, so please, be patient.
Ok, so on that note- if you, dear readers, notice anything totally out of whack, please shoot me a comment or email so I can (translation- my brilliant website designer guru) can fix it 🙂
Oh yes, speaking of this brilliant and amazing person, this site would not have been possible without Bobbi from Ready to Blog Designs. I approached Bobbi last June with not only a huge list of design wishes but also the enormous task of rebranding my site and migrating two separate blogs from two separate servers to a brand new one. Many said it was not possible.
So, if you’re looking for a fabulous web designer, she’s your girl.
Now, for part two of this post- SIX Onion Soup! (remember, I said there would always be food with my ramblings?)
Anyone else a French Onion Soup lover? French Onion Soup has always been one of my favorite soups. Growing up I would always request the toasted bread on the side of the soup and extra cheese on top. Seriously, caramelized soupy onions slathered cheese is the very best combination. Bonus points if it’s Asiago or Parmesan cheese.
Anyway, in college, I made my own onion soup a few times. This version was, yes, delicious, but it required so much butter (we’re talking STICKS) and cheese, that now a decade later, I just can’t. I don’t want to die earlier than absolutely necessary. For some reason, I assumed this was simply how this soup was made and never tried to make it since.
Then came my monthly subscription to EatingWell. Yes, you guys, even food bloggers read food magazines and draw inspiration from other places. Anyway, there it was- a recipe for Onion Soup that was actually moderately healthy. Sure, I added some butter (because, obviously) and topped some carbs with cheese, but this soup is a far cry from the previous French Onion Soup I used to cook.
And the flavor!? Oh my, it was deep, comforting, and exactly what one should expect when slowly cooking six different types of onion together.
Six kinds of onions cook together to make this comforting, fragrant and delicious winter soup. Topped with baked Parmesan crisps, you can still enjoy all the flavors of classic French Onion Soup, but with less guilt.
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided
- 4 tbsp butter divided
- 6 cups leeks white and light green parts only, halved and thinly sliced
- 8 large shallots thinly sliced
- 10 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups green onions thinly sliced
- 6 sweet white onions halved and thinly sliced
- 4 red onions halved and thinly sliced
- 3 yellow onions halved and thinly sliced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme finely chopped
- 2/3 cup dry sherry (may substitute with cognac)
- 8-12 cups beef broth
- Fresh chopped parsley to garnish
- 1 French or Sourdough baguette sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
Place 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch Oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring often to prevent browning, until cooked (approximately 5-6 minutes). Add the sliced shallots to the leeks and mix well to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute before adding the sliced green onion, white onions, red onions, yellow onions, salt and black pepper.
If you find that all the onions refuse to fit into the pot, don't worry! You may need to add part of the onions, allow them to cook down, add some more, allow those to cook down, and then add the rest.
Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the onions and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pot. Allow onions to reduce by approximately half, stirring frequently.
Once the onions are soft, juicy and fragrant (approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour), add the fresh parsley, rosemary, and thyme to the onions and mix well to combine. Cook for an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
With the onions deeply browned and caramelized, increase temperature to high and add the dry sherry (or cognac) and scrape any burnt pieces stuck to the bottom of the pot. Allow alcohol to cook for approximately 1-2 minutes before adding the beef broth to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes and season with additional salt and pepper, as needed.
Serve each bowl topped with homemade baked Parmesan crisps (see below), fresh chopped parsley and additional shredded cheese, if desired.
Prepare the Parmesan crisps approximately 15 minutes before soup is ready to be served. Position baking rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the broiler to low.
Slice baguette into thin 1/2-inch slices and transfer to a baking sheet in a single layer. Brush top side of each slice with oil. Transfer baking sheet to the oven and broil until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes.
Remove baking sheet from the oven and immediately flip over each slice and top with approximately 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese. Return baking sheet to the oven and broil an additional 3-4 minute or until cheese has melted. Serve.
If you love Onion Soup, you may also enjoy-
3 Bean Miso Chili with Spinach
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
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