St. Thérèse French Onion Soup Gratinée
My family loves this soup for the feast days of French saints, and it’s always one of the soups I serve at our Lenten Soup and Stations get togethers. To make it more crowd-friendly, I assemble the cheesy crouton topping separately. Gruyere is the cheese traditionally used for French onion soup (try Aldi). Grated Swiss or mozzarella can also be substituted. The crouton part is a great way to use up stale bread and heels. I really like bouillon paste (in the soup aisle) for the convenience and lack of waste, but 6 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of beef broth can be substituted for the pastes and water if you prefer.
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 red onions thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
- 2 sweet onions thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
- 2 Tablespoons chicken bouillon paste
- 2 teaspoons beef bouillon paste
- 8 cups water
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 sprigs fresh parsley plus extra chopped for serving
- 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 4 cups cubed French Italian, or sourdough bread
- 8 ounces about 2 cups shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese (or a mix)
- 2 ounces about ½ cup shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese (or a mix)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium low heat. Stir in the salt and sliced onions. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent. Adjust the heat to keep the onions from burning. While the onions are cooking, line a small baking sheet with foil and arrange the bread cubes on it in one layer. Place it in the center of the oven at 350° F until the bread is dried out, 10-15 minutes.
- Add the chicken and beef paste, water, red wine, and Worcestershire sauce into the soup pot. Stir to combine. Bundle the herbs with twine and place in the pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat. Remove and discard the herbs. Mix in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
- When it’s time to serve, preheat the oven broiler. Sprinkled the shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese (or mix) then the shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese (or mix) on the croutons. Place the baking sheet under the broiler until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and has flecks of brown, about 3 minutes. Watch it the whole time, it can burn quickly. Top with chopped fresh parsley if desired. Ladle the soup into bowls. Divide the cheesy croutons into six pieces with a spatula and place one piece atop the soup in each bowl.
Notes
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/91192/french-onion-soup-gratinee/
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