French Onion Soup

We've been in search of a French Onion soup for a while, and every recipe I read just wasn't quite right. That was until I read Chef Gordon Ramsey's cook book and found the recipe I had always dreamed of, I think one thing I like most about this recipe is we made our own brown chicken stock for the base of the soup. So here it is, one of the best French Onion Soups I've ever had. I'll start with the recipe for the brown chicken stock

If you don’t have time (or let’s be real energy) to make your own stock. Just use 6 cups bone broth 

Brown Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass

1 carrot

1 onion

2 sticks of celery

1 leek

olive oil 

a sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 tbsp of tomato puree (we love Pomi)

2 tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 400F. 

Place chicken carcass in a roasting tray and put in oven for 15-20 minutes

Chop carrot, onion, celery and leek into large chunks. Heat some oil in a pan and add the chopped vegetables, along with thyme, bay leaf and garlic. 

Sauté for a few minutes until golden brown, stirring frequently. 

Add the tomato puree and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the mixture is rich brown in color. 

Five minutes before taking the chicken carcass out of the oven, lightly dust it with flour. The flour acts as a thickening agent, and soaks up all excess fat. Return carcass to oven for final 5 minutes, then add the bones to the pan of vegetables. 

Now cover bones with just enough cold water (cold water only) to cover the bones. 

Bring stock to boil, turn heat down, skim the scum off the top and let simmer for an hour. 

Pass through a sieve and it's ready to use as a base for your French Onion soup.

French Onion Soup

5 tbsp butter

5 onions, peeled and sliced

1-2 heads of garlic peeled and sliced 

5 bay leaves

4 tbsp apple cider vinegar (recipe calls for Sherry vinegar but I couldn't find it)

2 tbsp flour

6 cups chicken stock (we used a mixture of stock and remainder water)

12 slices of baguette (depending on how many you're feeding 2 per bowl)

2/3 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

Heat the butter in pan

Fry onions, garlic and bay leaves slowly until golden brown and caramelized

Add the vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the brown residue

Sprinkle in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes

Add the hot stock and bring to boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 475F

Pour soup in heatproof bowls

Top with 1-2 slices of baguette and grated cheese

Place bowls on a baking tray and place in preheated oven until soup is bubbling up through the bread and cheese is golden brown

Enjoy!