Beef Consomme and Lipton Onion Soup Mix

Here's a neat proficient recipe for French Onion Soup with beef broth (thank you Firefly!).  This soup brings back and so many memories, I couldn't help veering off and indulging in a quick trip down retentiveness lane.

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A couple weeks ago the Firefly put its classic French Onion Soup back on the menu.  There are 2 pregnant reasons I dearest it as much every bit I do.  Start of all, Niall makes this phenomenal French Onion Soup with beef broth.  This in itself makes information technology a rich dark robust soup that takes 3 days to reach its meridian of flavor… and that's merely the goop.

Then they caramelize the onions to perfection with a multitude of spices.  Right before it's served it'south topped off with just the right blend of cheeses and garnished with minced parsley and garlic.

The croutons are made in house from the ciabatta bread they make nearly every twenty-four hour period.  I should know, it was brand favorite thing to brand during my internship!

Making ciabatta during my internship at Firefly

Needless to say, the Firefly French Onion Soup is beyond compare.

The Style Back Automobile…

Really, the but soup that comes close is the Famous & Barr French Onion Soup from my babyhood.  That's the second reason I can't become enough of it.  This soup throws me into the backseat of Marty McFly'due south Delorian and locks the doors.

Mom and I quondam in the late 70s when we would go to Famous & Barr for lunch.

When I was little, my mom would have me to the Famous & Barr department store restaurant.  She'd gild water ice tea, a salad with blue cheese dressing and we'd both have the French Onion Soup.  They'd bring information technology out in a mini crockpot with cheese melting down the sides.  It was all very grown up and I felt so sophisticated!

I was a footling younger here. Always happiest when eating!

So many of our best memories are centered around the kitchen table, eating, and our favorite restaurants.  My first appointment with Jerry in Effingham was at the Firefly and our wedding reception was there also.

My dad literally twirling me around the dance floor at the Firefly at our wedding reception.

With every bite of this French Onion Soup, I'm hit with wave later wave of nostalgia.  We've watched our kids grow up here…

2010 Carver (11) and his cousin Gianna (8) sharing a root beer at the Firefly

And we've celebrated most of their major mile stones here too.  My surprise 40th birthday, both of our girls' Sweet 16 were celebrated on Firefly'south dorsum porch,

Brianna's Sweet xvi (From left: Carver, Jerry, Brianna, Me & Alexandria)

all loftier schoolhouse and college graduations,

Alexandria's college graduation. (From left: Adrianna, Grandma Imelda, Alexandria, Brianna, Carver, Nick & Drake)

Halloween Witchfests

Katie backside the bar during Witchfest

anniversaries

My parents' 50th wedding anniversary dinner (from left: My mom Nancy, me, my dad Don, Jerry, Alexandria, Brianna Carver)

Jerry and my 11th nuptials anniversary

and nearly recently… Adam proposed to Alexandria hither in the wine room.  ❤️

You tin can see why this soup and the Firefly are so nostalgic for me!

Firefly's French Onion Soup Recipe (adjusted for the home cook)

At the restaurant, they brainstorm past making 140 pounds of beefiness broth.  This broth is the heart and soul of the soup.  It slowly simmers and reduces downwards for ii-iii days.  Everyone in the back of the house loves these days because the aroma is simply heavenly.

When it's time to start the soup, they start by bringing in 80 pounds of onions and 2 pounds of garlic.  The recipe beneath is pared down from the vast amount the Firefly makes to 12-16 servings for united states of america mere mortals who want to attempt this at home.

Firefly'south French Onion Soup Recipe

1. In a large dutch oven or large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in 3 tablespoons olive oil.  Then add 4 cloves of minced garlic and simmer until softened.

   

   3 pounds of onions before caramelizing

   

   3 pounds of onions after they are cooked down.

2. Add together 3 pounds of thinly sliced onions and the following ingredients:
   • ane tablespoon fresh thyme
   • ii teaspoons dried oregano
   • i/4 cup Dijon mustard
   • 1/four cup maple syrup
   • i/4 cup brown sugar
   • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
   • 1 teaspoon white pepper
   • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
   • i teaspoon footing blackness pepper
   • ane/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
   • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
   • 2 teaspoon onion powder
3. Stir well, reduce heat if needed and let caramelize to a deep golden dark-brown over medium to depression heat.
4. Deglaze with i cup of dry sherry by bringing it to a boil.  Then reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add 16 cups of Beefiness Broth or beefiness stock and let simmer for 2 hours.  Accommodate seasoning with table salt and pepper.
6. To serve: ladle soup into bowls, summit with large dried croutons or a piece of french bread.  Add a generous corporeality of provolone and gruyere cheese over the breadstuff or croutons.  Broil in the oven until cheese is melted.
7. Garnish with fresh minced garlic and fresh minced parsley.

How does the Firefly'due south French Onion Soup Compare with Julia Child'southward?

Showtime let'southward be clear.  Julia Kid is ane of my absolute heroes and her recipes and instructions are spot on.  Her French Onion Soup is also fabricated with beefiness broth and is very practiced.  With that said, with all due respect, it pales in comparing to Firefly's version.

Why is information technology so much amend?  Earlier writing this post I fabricated Julia Child's soupe a l'oignon gratineé from her Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. i.  Information technology's a very good recipe that pulls the majority of its flavour from the slow caramelization process of the onions and the splash of cognac right before serving.

The Firefly'south version, on the other hand, is a delicate trip the light fantastic.  They've managed to rest caramel sweetness, savory depth of sherry, bright herbal notes of thyme and oregano and the soul of the soup~ the slow simmered beefiness bone broth.

Can you lot freeze French Onion Soup?

Oh yeah! Oh Yes! Oh YES! Please practice!

This is not a difficult soup to make, in fact it's a unproblematic dump-it-all-in-the-pot kind of soup.  But it does have a ridiculous corporeality of time to make especially if you cistron in the time to brand your own beef broth.  If you lot practise brand information technology, I recommend doubling or tripling the corporeality and freezing it flat in zip lock bags.  It keeps beautifully for 4-5 months in the freezer.

Can French Onion Soup be fabricated ahead?

Aye, without a dubiety.  It's the nature of soup to become better and better for up to the 5th solar day.  Afterwards that, freeze anything that'due south left.

What is the best cheese to use?

Traditionally Gruyere cheese is used to top French Onion Soup.  This is a French cheese very similar to Swiss cheese, but milder in taste.  They both create a somewhat acceptable cheese pull.

If you like a substantial cheese pull, do what the Firefly does and alloy in some provolone.  They also add a bit of grated parmesan to kick upward the season also.

What to do if your French Onion Soup is bland

First of all, brand your French Onion Soup with beefiness broth instead of chicken or vegetable broth.  Beef stock or broth gives this soup a deeper complex flavor than the others.  Next, instead of reaching for a packet of ultra salty onion soup mix, accept a quick inventory of your pantry.  Wait for the items listed in Step #2 in a higher place subsequently the onions in the recipe.

Slice 2-3 onions and mince the garlic cloves.  Simmer them briefly in four tablespoons butter until the garlic is soft.

Then add the flavorings from Step #2 and simmer on depression until it turns a deep rich dark golden dark-brown.  Stir this into your French Onion Soup to enhance its flavor.

I just discovered Brodo Broth.   They have a actually delicious beef bone goop I keep on manus if I don't have any of my own broth handy.  They ship besides!  Yay!

French Onion Soup with Beef Broth

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Servings 16 cups

Calories 161.26 kcal

• six tablespoons unsalted butter
• iii pounds onions sliced
• iii cloves garlic minced
• ii tablespoons fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/4 cup dijon mustard
• one/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• two teaspoons table salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• i/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
• 1/4 loving cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoon onion pulverization

Liquids

• one loving cup dry sherry
• 16 cups beef broth

Final Ingredients

• iv cups large croutons 1/iv cup per serving
• sixteen ounces provolone cheese i ounce per serving
• 8 ounces parmesan cheese 1/2 ounce per serving
• 1 cup fresh parsley chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced

1. In a large soup pot, add olive oil, butter and garlic. Simmer until garlic is soft simply not brown.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the goop and dry sherry) to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-high.

3. Mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Slowly cook until the onions are very soft and a deep caramel golden brown. Stir occasionally.

4. Deglaze the pot with dry the sherry. Then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add the beef broth or stock and melt on depression for 2 hours.

To Serve

1. Ladle soup into bowls.

2. Top with croutons and cover with provolone and parmesan cheeses.

3. Place bowls on a baking sheet and broil in oven until cheese has melted.

4. Mix the minced garlic and parsley together and garnish the soup with a minor amount on superlative.

Diet Facts

French Onion Soup with Beef Goop

Corporeality Per Serving

Calories 161.26 Calories from Fatty 69

% Daily Value*

Fat seven.68g 12%

Saturated Fat three.37g 21%

Cholesterol 11.29mg 4%

Sodium 1279.27mg 56%

Potassium 321.02mg 9%

Carbohydrates 17.67g 6%

Fiber ane.75g 7%

Sugar 11.67g 13%

Protein four.04g 8%

Vitamin A 176.16IU four%

Vitamin C 8.55mg x%

Calcium 52.49mg v%

Fe 1.11mg half-dozen%

* Percentage Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Source: https://lakesidetable.com/easy-french-onion-soup-with-beef-broth/

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