The Best French Onion Soup

The key to The Best French Onion Soup is two things. Dry white wine and Porcini mushrooms. That’s right wine and mushrooms in an onion based soup will take every day to world class. Just a handful of dried porcini mushrooms will provide it a comforting and earthy flavor. The dry white wine will extract all of the goodness from the mushrooms and onions and you my friend will be in heaven.

Now, I also suggest that you use a very good sourdough loaf for making the toast. I feel that if you go with a dense or too grainy of a bread that it will change the texture of the soup. I am a texture eater, so this is a really important part of the planning of the meal.

The Best French Onion Soup

2018-02-03 12:29:36

Serves 8

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Ingredients

1. 9 cups water, 4 cups brought to a boil
2. 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
3. 3 1/2 pounds yellow onions
4. 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5. 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
6. 6 cloves garlic, minced
7. 4 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
8. 2 cups dry white wine
9. 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, or more to taste
10. 8 slices of sourdough bread, cut about 3/4-inch think

Instructions

1. In a bowl, pour 2 cups of boiling water over the dried mushrooms; let them soak for about 20 minutes while you cook the onions.
2. Cut the onions into half moon slices by cutting them in half, top to bottom and then each half crosswise.
3. In a Dutch oven over medium-low heat ad the oil and coat the bottom, then add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Cook for 30 minutes, stir a few times, until the onions start to break down slightly but are not falling apart. Then reduce the heat to a low to keep the onions from sticking or browning excessively; at this stage they should remain a more pale and golden color.
4. Add the garlic and thyme; allow to cook for 5 more minutes, then add the wine. Increase the temperature to a medium-high and cook an additional 5 minutes or until the wine has reduced in half.
5. Using a fine mesh strainer; pour in the mushrooms and their soaking liquid, this will help you reserve the re-hydrated mushrooms. Add the remaining water; once the liquid starts to bubble at the edges, add the cover and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Using your chef's knife chop the reserved mushrooms into very small pieces. Add them to the pot along with pepper and the remaining salt. Partially cover and cook an additional 20 minutes.
7. While this is cooking, preheat your oven at 400 degrees.
8. Toast the bread until it has crisped and has turned a barely golden color. Place the slices in the bottom of individual soup bowls and ladle soup over the toast; always serve hot.

By Brian Child

Adapted from Rachel Ray

Adapted from Rachel Ray

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