French Onion Soup (Appetizer) Country of Cuisine: France | Date Added: 1 Oct 2012

Serving Size, Ingredients and Equipment:

Required equipment: 5 oven-safe soup bowls (only 1 cup each)For 5 servings in small bowls:
 
 - 5 round slices of French baguette - 2 tablespoons butter, plus a little butter for pan-roasting the bread - 3 medium white onions, sliced in finger-wide 2-inch pieces - 4 cups beef broth (alternative: vegetable broth) - 1/2 cup water - 1 teaspoons salt - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder - 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper- 5 slices Provolone cheese or Gruyére cheese - 5 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese - your choice of fresh thyme or fresh parsley for garnishing

Cooking Instructions and Methods:

We love the contrast of serving a small portion of this soup right before serving a fresh, chilled garden salad.
 
 Be sure you have some oven-safe soup bowls for this one, since we'll have to broil it a bit before serving. 
 Add 2 tablespoons of butter to a large soup pot or saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the sliced onions and sauté for 20 minutes until the onions begin to soften and start to become translucent. You don't want them to brown. Add the beef broth, water, salt, garlic powder and black pepper to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil. When soup begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
 
 In the meantime, cut the bread or baguette into bowl-sized round pieces and roast until golden in a buttered pan.
 
 When the soup is done simmering, spoon about 1 cup into an oven-safe bowl. Float a crouton on top of the soup, then place cheese on top of the crouton. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese on top as well. Place the bowl into your oven set to high broil. Broil the soup for 5 to 6 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown (you may need to broil longer if you are making more than one bowl at a time). Sprinkle an additional 1/2 tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese over the top of the soup and serve. Repeat process to prepare remaining servings.
 
 Top with your preference of fresh thyme or fresh parsley.
 
 We prefer to have this soup be a clear, oniony broth. If you prefer to add some thickness, dust the onions with some flour at the end of the sautèe process and cook the flour fully, but don’t overdo it as your soup will end up tasting floury and grainy.