French Onion Soup: The Master Recipe

It's been awhile since I've posted, and life has taken a few turns...

I'm living in New York on my own now, and my favorite part is getting to cook all the time (gotta eat, after all!). To make it even better, my parents surprised me with an Instant Pot, which I've been wanting. It's opened up a whole new world of cooking to me!

The Instant Pot was a little intimidating at first--I imagined hitting the wrong button and the pot exploding from the pressure. But luckily, it's designed better than that (thank you modern technology). Ever since I got it, I've been playing with some new recipes, especially ones that are also cheap and small batch.

Last week I looked at the giant bag of onions in my fridge and knew that it was use them or lose them--I couldn't wait any longer. Not many recipes use up onions like good old French onion soup, so  out came the knife, the onions, and the tears. A few hours later...soup!

I call this recipe the master recipe because it's is based on a bunch of recipes I've seen--it combines them into one set of guidelines so that you can make French Onion Soup based on how you personally like it, and the ingredients and time you have. There are directions for a simple version, but of course, the more time and ingredients you put into it, the better it will taste. Note that fully caramelized onions, beef broth, worcestershire sauce, and gruyere cheese are the most traditional options. Honestly though, it's hard to go wrong as long as you top it with a generous amount of toast and cheese at the end!


French Onion Soup
Serves: 4

Caramelized Onions:
2 lb. sliced onions (yellow, red, sweet, or vidalia)
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbs. butter

Broth:
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups water, beef broth, or chicken broth
4-6 slices French or artisan bread, toasted
3/4 cup shredded cheese (gruyere, swiss, mozzarella, provolone, gouda, jarlsberg, emmental, comté)

Optional additions for flavor:
1 bay leaf (step 2)
Sprig of fresh thyme (step 2)
1 - 2 Tbs dry sherry, dry white wine, or red wine (step 3)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (step 4)
Red pepper flakes (step 4)

Stovetop directions:
1. Melt butter in large pot. Add onions, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook for 10 minutes.
2. Stir onions. Leave 10 minutes, then stir again.
3. Cook onions for 40 more minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. If onions start to stick to pan, add a little water or the wine.
4. When onions are finished caramelizing, add water/broth, salt, pepper, and optional additions.
5. Boil; reduce heat. Simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
6. Remove bay leaf and thyme. Ladle soup into bowls and top with toast and cheese.


Instant Pot Modifications:
Step 1-3: On Sauté mode, melt butter, then caramelize onions for 10 minutes. Add wine, if using, and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring.
Step 4-5: Add remaining ingredients and optional additions; pressure cook for 20 minutes on high; natural release (takes about 15 minutes).


Notes:
*If you are short on time: Cover onions and cook on stovetop for 10 minutes until they are tender. After adding broth, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
*Remember, the longer the onions are cooked, the longer the soup simmers, and the more flavorings you add, the better it will taste.
*Beef broth tastes best, but water or chicken broth are fine as well. Water is only recommended to use if you are fully caramelizing the onions, otherwise flavor will be majorly lacking.