There's something about this time of year that just makes me want to have soup at every meal. I had an abundance of onions in the pantry, so I decided to make a warm, brothy, onion soup. But you can't just throw onions in a the broth and call it a day. You have to caramelize those babies first so they're golden brown and sweet. Here's the recipe!
1 bag of onions
butter
salt
pepper
sherry or brandy or vermouth or wine or Worcestershire sauce
1 box of beef broth(32 oz)
thyme
The first step is to caramelize the onions. This means cooking them in butter on low heat for a long time so that they start to brown and naturally release their sugars. Because you don't want them to burn, its best to chop the onions into wider pieces. And keep stirring them so they don't stick to the pan. Cook for at least 40 minutes. Once the onions have caramelized, its time to deglaze the pan with the alcohol. This will provide a depth of flavor that will help to marry the sweetness of the onions with the beef broth. You can use sherry, brandy, wine, or even vermouth! You can also use Worcestershire sauce in place of alcohol. I used vermouth AND Worcestershire sauce! Deglazing the pan helps to unstick any onions from the pan and really pull all the flavors into your soup. If you can, use homemade beef broth, it tastes so much better! I didn't have any homemade beef broth, but those onions needed to be used up, so I grabbed a ready-made boxed beef broth instead. I used the entire 32 oz box and I even added another cup or two of water. The broth will evaporate the longer it simmers, so keep an eye on it. If you prefer it more soupy, add more water. If you like it thicker, than just use the beef broth. Add your thyme, salt, pepper and any other spices you might like and let the soup simmer until all the flavors combine. Serve with toasted bread and melted parmesan on top!