Fast and Frugal: Sweet Onion Soup

Sweet Onion Soup with White Cipollini Onions

I have a bad case of cabin fever.

As I write this, our weather is going from rain to snow, from 38 degrees to below freezing, and a thin, gritty coat of ice is starting to cover roads and cars. I've got a nagging sinus infection and the weather isn't helping it.

Fortunately, I've got a carton of frozen onion soup, made three months ago and stashed in the freezer so that it would be there to comfort me when I needed it.

I need it now.



Sweet Onion Soup (4 servings)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 6-8 large onions, peeled and sliced (I used white cipollini and sweet yellow onions)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 6 cups chicken broth, preferably organic 
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
  • 2 bay leafs
  • 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • sea salt and pepper 

Place butter in a medium stockpot; melt over medium heat. Add sliced onion and garlic. Brown over medium heat until golden. Remove from stockpot and set aside. Deglaze stockpot with about a cup of chicken broth.

When onions have cooled a bit, toss with flour, and return to stockpot. Add remainder of chicken broth, thyme leaves and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and allow to simmer for 30-40 minutes. Taste frequently and season as needed. Remove bay leaves before serving.

(I'm a huge taster. When I make soup, I use at least a dozen spoons, tasting frequently. I add whatever I need to make it taste good: an extra bay leaf, more salt, more herbs, etc.)

Serve with Gruyere, Parmesan or Swiss cheese - and preferably a baguette.

Last fall in Quebec City, we had a wonderful onion soup at Bistro Sous Le Fort near the funicular that makes moving between the upper and lower Old Town much easier than walking.

Definitely a tourist place, the bistro offered a charming wait staff and a lively atmosphere. Everyone around us was from somewhere else: Amsterdam, Paris, San Francisco. We were hungry from a day of plane travel (Message to O'Hare International Airport: Get some decent food!) and the soup was hearty and filling.

Bistro Sous Le Fort, Old Quebec, Lower Town

Comments

Katie Zeller said…
I haven't made onion soup in awhile.... Might be time. Our weather has been beautiful for the last few days, but I'll put it on my list for when the rains come back - and they will LOL
Unknown said…
I'm pretty envious, Katie. I know how nice it can be in your part of France in March.

We could use a break here.

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