If you are in a rush but you still fancy a bowl of delicious, warming French onion soup, the following recipe is ideal for you. With only six ingredients excluding the croutons, this soup is very simple to make. Allow about forty minutes for the onions to caramelize properly but after that step you simply need to add the other ingredients and give it a stir.
Start to make the cheese croutons when the onions are nearing the end of their caramelization and then everything will be ready at the same time. You can either use toasted bread slices with sliced cheese on top or throw some grated cheese over some toasted bread and broil the whole lot until the cheese melts over the soup in the typical French onion soup style.
You can use either homemade beef stock or beef bouillon or cans in this recipe. If you are using commercial beef broth or bouillon, make sure it is a low sodium variety because broth tends to be salty and too much salt can ruin the flavor of quick French onion soup recipes.
Ingredients -
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic
2 pints beef broth
6 yellow onions
1 cup red wine
6 slices French bread
6 slices gruyere cheese
˝ teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
Slice the onions, garlic, and sauté them with the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat.
Stir them often and keep cooking until the onion is soft and brown.
This takes roughly 20 minutes.
Put the cheese on the toasted bread and broil it until the cheese melts.
Add the red wine, broth, thyme and bay leaves to the onions, bring the mixture to the boil and then serve it in soup crocks, topped with the cheese toasts.
(Serves 6)
Soup is often considered nothing more than an appetizer, something to be eaten before the main event, but you can make soup into a complete meal. It just depends what type of soup you make.
For example, quick French onion soup recipes are excellent for either lunch or supper. Quick French onion soup is a meal in itself and very nutritious. It contains all the food groups - cheese for protein, oil or butter for fat, bread for carbohydrates and onions, herbs and seasonings for vitamins and minerals.
A thin, watery consomme is unlikely to satisfy your hunger pangs and a plain tomato or chicken broth will not fare much better, unless you add croutons, pasta, potatoes or something else to make it more filling.
French onion soup is traditionally topped with bread and cheese, making it the equivalent of having a bowl of onion soup with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side.
Once you discover an easy quick way to make French onion soup, you will probably make this dish one of your all time favorite recipes - something to rustle up quickly at lunchtime or in the evening.
To make your soup as filling as possible, don't skimp on any of the ingredients. Use plenty of onions to make the texture good, use two big slices of bread for the croutons and a generous handful of grated cheese or a couple of thick slices.
You can prepare the cheese croutons while you fry the onions. Doing these tasks simultaneously means you will have a delicious quick French onion soup, all ready to enjoy, in minutes. Quick French onion soup recipes are ideal when you want to cook and eat in a hurry, yet make something satisfying.