One of my guilty pleasures in life is the Harry Potter books. Each time I re-read them, I find myself craving onion soup after reading about Mrs. Weasley making it for her family at the beginning of the 6th book.
I was reminded of the craving when I made crock pot caramelized onions for the Caramelized Onion Strombolis a few weeks ago. My house smelled like french onion soup for two days. I thought: how difficult would it be to turn these onions into a soup?
It was easy! I used Julia Child’s recipe as a guide, and the results were lovely. You can start the onions before you leave the house in the morning, then prepare the rest in 45 minutes at the end of the day.
Hmm. The directions say to brown the cheese, and yet this picture reveals pathetically unbrowned Swiss. I might be a hack . . .
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds onions
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 6 cups beef stock
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2 T. brandy (Julia’s recipe calls for Cognac. If you have the means, go for it. We had cheap brandy, and it worked just fine)
- Slices of good sourdough or french bread
- Shredded or sliced swiss cheese
- Olive oil for drizzling.
Method:
- Slice the onions and throw them in the crockpot. Drizzle with 1 T. olive oil, give it all a stir, cover and set crock pot to Low. Give it a stir a couple times during the day if you can.
- After 10 hours (or whenever you get home from work), add the sage and crank up the crock pot to high heat.
- Preheat oven to 425°.
- Combine the wine and beef stock, then heat in the microwave for a couple of minutes to jump start the cooking. Pour into the crock pot, cover, and allow to cook while you prepare the croutons.
- On a baking sheet, drizzle the bread slices with olive oil. Bake for 5 minutes, flip the bread and top with swiss cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes or so, until cheese is melted. Turn on the broiler to brown the cheese, if necessary. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Add brandy and butter to the soup, stir, and allow to cook for another few minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Ladle soup into bowls, top each with a crouton, and serve.
