French Onion Soup

Nothing is better during the cooler days than a delicious steaming hot bowl of hearty French Onion Soup. Especially when it is topped with gooey melted cheese toast – I like lots of cheese and I use gruyere, cheddar, and fresh mozzarella cheese!

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5-6 sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 6 cups chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth
• ¼ cup vermouth
• 1 tablespoon Herb de Provence
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 slices of multi-grain bread ( you can also use the traditional baguette – sliced into ¼-inch pieces)
• 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
• 1 cup shredded old cheddar cheese
• Six slices of mozzarella (bocconcini)
• Chopped fresh chives, for serving

I like to use turkey or chicken broth in my onion soup because it gives a nice rich flavour without being too heavy. This is my favourite way to use up my Turkey broth after Turkey dinner. My bread of choice is multi-grain bread because it makes for a nice nutty nutritional twist.

Preparation

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until they are tender and beginning to soften for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook until the onions are golden and caramelized for about 20 minutes.
2. Add the broth, vermouth, herb de Provence. The cook over low heat for three to four hours.
3. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
4. Preheat the broiler in your oven. On a parchment-lined cookie sheet place slices of banquet or multigrain bread.
5. Top each slice of bread with a mound of the gruyere and cheddar cheese. Broil for 5 minutes. Top with mozzarella slices and broil for an additional 3 minutes.
6. Ladle the soup into bowls and place a slice of cheese bread on top.
7. Serve immediately, garnished with chives.

Oven method:

1. Preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls and place 2 slices of baguette or one slice of multi-grain bread on top. Mound the three kinds of cheese on top of the bread. Put the bowls on a cookie sheet and place them under the broiler.
2. Broil the soup and cheese toast until the cheese is melted and browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Watch carefully it can burn quickly!
3. Serve immediately, garnished with chives.

Note: I like to prepare the cheese bread on a parchment lined cookie sheet under the broiler so that the toast gets crispy on the underside.

The traditional way is to place the bread on top of the soup and broil it all together in the oven. I have given instructions for both methods and really – either way is delicious!

Enjoy!