I’ve always loved onion soup. I’ve tasted good ones and a few strange ones. I loved it for both the broth and the fact that I could have it with bread and cheese. I checked the recipes online and most of them looked simple enough. That is until I came across one that suggested I use both chicken and beef broth. Knowing how this makes a more flavorful sauce, I knew that the combination would be tasty. Then somebody pointed out on my facebook post that aside from the quality of the ingredients, it is the vermouth or red wine that does wonders. Since I had all the ingredients, I decided to just go ahead and do it.
However, I don’t have an oven nor do I have oven-safe bowls. I did this differently compared to most recipes. I prepared the broth first. While the broth was cooking, the onions were being chopped, the bread and cheese were being sliced and prepared.
Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
1 teaspoon salt
3 large red onions
3 large white onions
3 cups chicken broth *
3 cups beef broth *
2 cups red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
sprigs of thyme, bay leaf, rosemary
Crusty bread, slices of strong, sharp cheeses.
On one burner I boiled 1/2 kilo of beef for one hour and added the chicken, boiling it for another 30 minutes to create my broth. Once the chicken was added, I added the herbs, salt, the wine and the Worcestershire sauce.
I melted the butter in a separate pot, stir in the onions and cooked till translucent. I guess the secret here is to cook them over medium heat and keep stirring until the onions change color. Be careful not to brown them because it will affect the taste.
Once that was done, I added 6 cups of the broth I prepared, straining out the herbs. I added the balsamic vinegar and pepper. While the broth was simmering, I toasted the bread for 3 minutes, placed it out and added cheese slices on top then placed it back in the toaster for 2 more minutes.
I ladled the soup into bowls, took the bread out of the toaster, placed it on the soup and served it immediately.
What did I do with the chicken and the beef? The chicken was added to the remaining onion soup. Since it was so flavorful, I plan to turn it into a pasta sauce by adding cream when I get the chance.
Ps: I found out that it tastes better after you let the flavors sit overnight. It also goes really well with pungent or sharp cheese. For the photo below, I used a 3-day-old pandesal, old dutch and Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese.
