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French Onion Soup with Beef Stock

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PREP TIME
20 min
COOKING TIME
360 min
TOTAL TIME
380 min
SERVINGS
4 servings
Dinner French Canadian
French Onion Soup with Beef Stock
Ingredients
  • 12 cups water
  • 1 pound beef short ribs
  • 3 parsnips, peeled and cubed
  • 3 onions, coarsely chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery with leaves, coarsely chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 4 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1/4 cup flour, or more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, or to taste
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 2 tablespoons dry sherry
  • 1 dash hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco®), or to taste
  • 4 thick slices French bread
  • basil and garlic-flavored olive oil for brushing
  • 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
Instructions
1
Begin by placing water, beef ribs, parsnips, onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 tablespoon fresh thyme into a large soup pot over medium heat; bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Gradually decrease the heat to a gentle simmer and cook, periodically removing foam that forms on top of the broth, until the rich brown color develops, taking approximately 5 to 6 hours.
2
Alternatively, you can prepare the broth in a slow cooker.
3
Once the broth is ready, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the beef ribs and vegetables. Refrigerate any leftover broth for future use.
4
In a separate pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Cook the onions and garlic until they reach a deep caramelized state, which should take around 30 minutes.
5
Next, combine flour, herbes de Provence, paprika, and garlic powder in a bowl. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the browned onions and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
6
Stir in some chopped parsley and 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme, then pour in 4 cups of beef broth, white wine, sherry, and hot pepper sauce. Simmer the mixture until all the flavors have melded together and the soup has thickened, taking around 15 minutes.
7
About 15 minutes before serving time, preheat your oven broiler. Place a metal rack approximately 6 inches away from the heat source.
8
Brush slices of French bread with flavored olive oil and toast them under the preheated broiler until they are well-browned on each side, taking around 1 to 2 minutes per side.
9
Ladle the soup into oven-proof bowls and place a toasted bread slice on top of each bowl. Sprinkle an even layer of Gruyère cheese over the bread slice.
10
Place the filled soup bowls under the broiler until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and browned, taking around 2 to 4 minutes.