French Onion Soup
Terry McCarthy
I grew up in upstate New York back when you couldn’t go two miles without passing a Friendly’s restaurant. As a kid, I remember seeing (and smelling) this soup being served in those cool brown crock bowls with piping hot cheese oozing down the sides. I thought they were so sophisticated and I had to try one. I was (and am) a weird eater, so I am sure my mother just rolled her eyes, gave in and said yes to me. I had one, and it was so oniony, salty, and cheesy. Plus, there was bread in the bowl, a total bonus! A million years later, I still love it. Here is my riff on the old Friendly’s classic.
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pats
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. yellow onions, cut in half lengthwise and
sliced ¼-inch thick
1 lb. Vidalia onions, cut in half lengthwise and
sliced ¼-inch thick
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ c. dry sherry
3 ½ c. homemade beef stock
2-3 hearty sprigs fresh thyme
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small French baguette, sliced on a bias into 3/4-inch thick pieces
12 oz. medium-hard cheese, such as a combination of Gruyere, Fontina, or Swiss, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 1 ½ c.)
Preparation:
Melt butter and olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions. Spread them out in as thin a layer as possible. Sprinkle dried thyme and dried oregano over onions, and cook, stirring as needed to keep onions from sticking, until they are melting and soft, golden brown, and beginning to caramelize (about 1/2 hour or more). Sprinkle flour over onions, and stir to coat. Add sherry, stock, and fresh thyme sprigs, and bring to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, to allow flavors to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Arrange bread on a rimmed baking sheet and broil until deep-golden brown on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side; set aside. Ladle 1 cup hot soup into four 13-oz. ramekins or ovenproof bowls. Arrange the bowls on a rimmed baked sheet. Place 2 slices of toasted bread over each bowl of soup to cover the surface of the soup completely. Sprinkle 3 oz. grated cheese over bread in each bowl, and place under broiler until cheese is melted and crusty brown around the edges. Watch carefully that bread doesn’t burn. Serve immediately.
TIDBIT
The Big Onion
This popular variety of onion that was discovered in 1931 by Moses Coleman, a Toombs County, Georgia farmer, when he produced a crop of onions that was sweeter than expected. When Coleman’s onions brought a good price at market, other Depression-weary farmers began to grow the sweet, mild onions as well. Word about “those Vidalia onions” spread in the 1940s as tourists passing through Vidalia on the most traveled highways in South Georgia bought the onions at the Farmer’s Market there. Once word spread, the onion’s popularity and production continued to grow. In 1990, the state legislature declared the Vidalia onion to be the Official State Vegetable. There is even a Vidalia Onion Hall of Fame!
