French Onion Soup

There are some dishes which are so simple and delicious, they cry out not to be mucked with. And when those dishes cross my family, their pleas go unheard. One such dish which my family has been tweaking for a lifetime is french onion soup. 

I remember the first time I tried my mom's french onion soup. I also remember the only way they got me to try it was by telling me that booze was third on the list of ingredients. Finally I remember not liking it at all, however, as its a favorite of my parents, it was a dish soon to grow on me (metaphorically, of course). Now my mother and i have made french onion soup so many times that we almost dont need the recipe to remember its four ingredients. 

Not meaning to get all mushy here, but french onion soup is the quintessential dish from all my previous experience in the kitchen. Few ingredients, lots of time and attention, and a house full of the aroma of slow cooking foods. Nothing makes me happier (nothing of course, except for september 16 when Starwars the Force Unleashed comes out!). This is one of those time tested and true recipes which has little creative process involved in its creation, but a great deal of thought into the technique, quality of ingredients, and small alterations to the whole process. Essentially it is a dish which holds the memories of decades of tweaking and my own families traditions and rituals surrounding french onion soup nights.

Of course with a dish like this, I cant simply give the recipe and let you have at it, so I will endeavor to educate you on the entire ritual. The first step, before you haul out your brand new Global only onion chopping knife, and your bushel of onions, go around the house and close off all bedroom doors. This dish will stink up your house like a snake in a mongoose factory... which is great, until you have gorged yourself on soup and you cant bare the thought of it anymore. Then, get out your Global only onion chopping knife and bushel of onions. 

A note on chopping onions: especially for men, you will want to have the phone handy for when you start chopping. Onions make you cry like a blubbering boobkin, use it to your advantage and call up your mother inlaw in a sobbing heap in order to guilt her into not visiting on the weekend, or call up your spouse and show her your sensitive side. The onions can wait, its called milking it.

A  further note on french onion soup etiquette: if you eat french onion soup alone, then you sleep alone too.

Finally, french onion soup freezes remarkably well. There is little fat to absorb freezer flavors, and with that many onions, you dont need to worry about any overpowering aromas seeping into your soup.

The recipe to serve 4 soup lovers, or 8 appetizers:

4 large yellow (sweet/ vidalia) onions

4 cups good beef stock (low sodium)

3 tbs good brandy

2 tbs sugar

Peel and slice the onions down through their core, then cut into half rings. Separate the onion rings by hand. Pour two tablespoons of vegetable oil into a stock pot large tall enough to have at least three or four inches of height over top of the onions, otherwise stirring will become an issue, and place over medium heat. At first you will only need to stir occasionally, every minute or so, but as the onions cook down you will need to stir more frequently. Browning in the early stages is bad, as it leads to bitter flavors, so concentrate on sweating the onions very slowly. It will take about an hour of stirring in which time you must not leave the kitchen. The sugars which stick to the pan burn very quickly, and so will need to be scraped often. About 45 minutes in, add the sugar, as the onions are finally about ready to start taking on some color.

I have thought about cooking the onions in the oven, but I have not yet experimented with this. The more gentle indirect heat from the oven would probably protect from burning, and perhaps allow the juices from the onions to evaporate faster. Something to look into in the future. 

After your hour of stirring and scraping the pan, your onions should have reduced down to less than one fifth of their original volume, and have formed a small tan colored mass in the pan. Add the brandy and scrape any remaining sugars off of the bottom of the pan. Add three cups of the beef stock and taste. If its too salty, add water. If its not beefy enough, add more stock. The first thing you should taste should be sweet, onion sweet. Afterwards a crisp saltiness which harkens to the delicious earthy stock your are using. It isn't a very complex flavor, and it does well with a great deal of variations with regards to the balance between the sweet and salty. So go with what you like. 

Put the lid on, and put it on the lowest heat on your stove, and forget about it for at least three hours. You may need to add more liquids after the simmering is done, but taste first. 

Traditionally you would place a crouton of sour dough on top, and top that with some stringy white cheese before broiling it to crisp up. I recommend this whole heartedly.