French Onion Soup

Family-style or single-serving, it’s pure indulgence

Issue 60: From Dana

(photo: Aubrie Pick)

When you teach kids about food, you’re introducing them to so much more than the mechanics of cooking. There’s all the important stuff beyond the plate—food as identity, memory, community—that make our meals so much more meaningful. 

I was thinking about this as I dipped through the layers of a bowl of French onion soup the other night—it’s the dish that graces the cover of our soon-to-launch cookbook Dynamite Kids Cooking School, and a popular Dynamite Dinner Club lesson. (We’re teaching it online next Monday at 5:30 and 7:30 pm ET). 

I first came to know and love it when I was my son’s age and a freshman in college. In fact, it was exactly this time of year—a crisp and spectacularly gorgeous fall at UNC-Chapel Hill—and I was so excited to finally be out on my own in the world. All I wanted to do was to walk around campus and town, to soak up all this beauty and experience, to find my people and my places. 

One of my favorite spots was the back booth at a local institution called Carolina Coffee Shop, which was really more of a restaurant, and a kind of fancy one at that. It had the dark and smoky vibe of chop house that had been plopped down in the center of a college town: wood walls with sconces at each table, classical music, too-cool-for-school servers who were all so interesting in their own ways (in fact, David Sedaris worked there and writes about it in his fantastic short short “This Old House”), and a menu full of classics, like Eggs Benedict and Cobb salad, that were entirely new to me.

I’d go alone after class a few times a week, order the French onion soup and sit there reading and writing for what felt like hours. It felt freeing and empowering to allow myself the indulgence of that soup: unapologetically decadent in a way my parents would have never allowed or approved of, especially for a midday homework snack.

What I love about French onion soup is that it IS that special and over-the-top, by design. Each bowl is its own perfect package, and each bite has a balanced blend of that intensely sweet oniony broth, squishy bread and molten cheese.  

When I started making it at home, I realized this decadence came easy: chopping all those onions and having the patience to let them caramelize deeply is the hardest part. At some point, I made the recipe even easier by ditching the individual crocks in favor of a massive version in a Dutch oven: the main benefit being you could dip back into the pot for more.

But there’s still nothing like a single serving, just for you when you need a little indulgence.

Family-style French Onion Soup
Serves 4-6

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 pounds sweet onions (like Vidalia), thinly sliced
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
A few cracks of freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour (or a gluten-free substitute, such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1)
2 quarts chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, store bought or homemade
10 sprigs fresh thyme, plus fresh leaves for garnish
3 bay leaves
Kosher salt to taste
8 to 10 baguette slices (1 medium baguette), toasted
2 cups (8 ounces) grated
Gruyère cheese (or a mix of Parmesan, low-moisture mozzarella, and Swiss)

1. In an ovenproof stockpot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, sugar, and pepper and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are deeply golden (but not dark brown), about 40 minutes.

2. Sprinkle the onions with the flour, stir for 1 minute, then add the stock, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir, scraping up all the oniony browned bits at the bottom of the pan.

Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, until the flavors have melded. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Season with salt and more pepper to taste.

3. Preheat the broiler.

4. If your broiler is part of your main oven and your pot will easily fit, lay the baguette slices on top of the soup, pressing down slightly to submerge them, and sprinkle with the cheese. Broil until the cheese is fully melted and bubbly. (Alternatively, if you have ovenproof bowls, you can place them on a sheet pan, ladle some soup into each, add the bread and press down to submerge it, top with the cheese, slide the pan under the broiler, and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly.)

5. If your broiler is a separate unit (usually a drawer below the oven) that won’t fit a big soup pot, place the baguette slices on a sheet pan, sprinkle with the cheese, and broil until the cheese is fully melted and bubbly, about 1 minute, but keep a close eye on it! Immediately lay the bread on top of the soup, cheesy side up, pressing down slightly to submerge them.

6. Garnish with fresh thyme and freshly cracked pepper. To serve, bring the pot to the table and let everyone ladle their portion into bowls.