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As the weather cools, French onion soup always hits the spot. This dish from All Recipes is so simple, but so good, especially if you use a rich and flavorful stock, the sweetest of slow cooked onions, a thick piece of crusty bread, and good-quality nutty Gruyere. Pairing soup with wine can be a bit tricky and it’s a bit counterintuitive to match liquid with liquid, but believe me, a good glass of wine makes this meal even better.

French Onion Soup Gratinee

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
  • 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
  • 1/2 cup  Helvetia Pinot Noir
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

GRATINEE GARNISH:

  • 4 thick slices French or Italian bread
  • 8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese, room temperature
french onion gratin soup

French Onion Soup is perfectly paired with a glass of Pinot Noir to warm up a cold winter’s night.

PREPARATION:

  1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
  2. Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.
  3. Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.
  4. Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slice Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the Asiago or mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.
  5. Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. As it softens, the cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal. Serve immediately!

Depending on the depth and meatiness of the stock you use in this soup, you could go with wines of varying weight.  Hevletia Winery Pinot Noir captures the middle ground, and this 2010 vintage’s deep plum and berry fruit as well as a touch of smoke and lush texture to match the soup.

 

Enjoy!