French onion soup

Ingredients:

9 large yellow onions
2 tsp fresh thyme (dry thyme is acceptable)
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large bay leaves
1 garlic clove finely diced
kosher salt
10 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. dry sherry

Directions:

French onion soup is a classic that requires an understanding of a cooking technique known as caramelization. The caramelization is what brings out the sweetness of this dish. Sweetness is not achieved by adding sugar. Any French onion soup recipe calling for sugar is to be avoided.

Yellow, red and white onions each have their own unique flavour so you could elect to use all of them. The choice is yours as you don't have to use just yellow onions. Having said that, you could also add in shallots and leeks into the mixture. Your soup will develop a rich earthy body of flavours that will keep your guests guessing.

First start by slicing off the ends of the onions and peel off the skin and the first few outer shells to get to the soft interior. The emphasis is soft, so remove any hard and tough parts of the onion. Next quarter the onion, longitudinally and not across the grain. The direction of the cuts will impact the taste of the onions. So if you have onion rings, you've cut them incorrectly. I'm no expert, but it would make sense as cutting across the grain tears the cells releasing an enzyme called allinase, which in turn releases a chemical irritant called syn-propanethial-S-oxide. This is the chemical that makes us tear up when we cut up onions. There is another chemical that is released that also stays in your fingers for days after cutting. This is why I where latex gloves when handling onions.

 

Enough of the chemistry lesson. We're here to cook. Place the onions into a casserole dish and drizzle butter and olive oil over the onions. Add the bay leaves, cover and braise in oven for 3 hours at 350F. After the 3 hour mark, stir and braise for another 30 minutes uncovered and repeat a second time. Depending on your situation, you may cook longer.

 

Once the onions have sufficiently caramelized, remove the bay leaves and transfer the onions along with some broth and thyme into a food processor and puree. Leave some small pieces of onions as we want to retain some texture to the soup.

 

Transfer onions to a pot with garlic and broth and stir mixture over a low-medium heat. Add the balsamic vinegar and dry sherry. You may need to adjust the amounts depending on taste. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

 

Next comes the crucial step. At this stage the soup will seem bland. The flavours will come out once you've added salt, but you need to add the salt gradually and taste after each pinch. If you add too much salt at a time, you can ruin the soup! The demarcation between bland and salty is a very fine line with this soup. You want to be standing on the line!

 

Traditionally, this soup is served in a ramekin topped with a sliced baguette toasted with butter and melted gruyere cheese that has been broiled in the oven for a few minutes.