Bistro French Onion Soup with Bourbon

Bourbon whiskey gives this classic soup a punch. Topped with homemade croutons, mozzarella and provolone.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 4 - 1 cup servings

Slice. Start by cutting the tops and ends off the onions. Then, slice the onion in half at the midway point between top and end. This should make it easier to peel off the outside dry layers.
2 large sweet onion (16 oz)
Chunks. Next, cutting in the direction of the rings, slice each onion half into ½” thick slices. Finally, keeping the half onion together, cut the strips to 1-1 1/2” chunks. The goal is to end up with somewhat even sized pieces about the size of quarters, not stringy, thin onions.
Set Aside. Place the cut onions in a bowl and set aside.
Butter. Melt butter in Dutch oven pot over medium heat, about 1 minute.
Cooking. Place the onions and salt in the pot. Stir to coat the onions. Add rosemary.
2-3 4" sprigs rosemary, 2 tablespoons salted butter (1/4 stick)
Tender Goodness. Cook onions over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the onions begin to turn golden-brown, stir more frequently to keep onions from burning. Onions will begin to get translucent and soft, but still have a little crunch. Brown bits of goodness should start to form on the bottom of the pan and the rosemary should be fragrant.

Bread. Cut bread into 1” cubes, about 6 cubes per serving, and place in a bowl.
1 loaf French bread
Olive Oil and Salt. Drizzle the cubes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Toss to coat cubes.
2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (1/4 teaspoon for onions, 1/4 for bread)
Toasty. Heat a cast iron skillet or pan. Cook bread cubes over medium heat, 2-3 minutes in total turning to toast the other sides. (This doesn’t have to be perfect. Let the bread toast, toss them around and cook a bit longer – don’t worry about trying to tediously turn all cubes to get all 4 sides).

Remove Rosemary. Remove the rosemary from the onion mix.
Liquids. Add the balsamic vinegar, Bourbon whiskey and orange juice to the onions.
1 teaspoon high quality balsamic vinegar (thick like molasses, not watery), 2 tablespoons of your favorite Bourbon whiskey, 1 tablespoon orange juice
Reduce. Reduce the heat to low. Stir the onions and liquids until combined and fully incorporated. Cook for 10 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally. The onions will be a dark brown now and getting very soft, but not mushy.
Broth. Add ½ cup of broth. Stir to get up the brown bits of goodness. Let the onions cook in the broth for 6-7 more minutes until the liquid thickens. Do not stir. The onion mix will be more of a gravy.
3 1/2 cups beef broth (dark like coffee, not like tea)
More Broth! Add the remaining 3 cups beef broth. Stir the onion mix to get up more brown bits of goodness and heat the broth thoroughly. Remove the soup from the heat.
Assemble. Add 1 cup of soup to each ramekin. Add 5-6 cubes of croutons per bowl. Top with ¼ cup grated mozzarella cheese and a slice of provolone.
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 4 slices provolone cheese (circle slices)
Broil. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan and the pan about 5” from the broiler. Broil 2-3 minutes until the cheese is golden bubbly.
Enjoy! Serve immediately.

Keyword beef, broth, cheese, winter