French Onion Soup

Growing up, I really didn't like onion soup. But given my recent attitude of branching out into new culinary territory, I decided to try making it. After all, it's healthy (onions are a vegetable) and inexpensive, which are both important to me, given the fact that I have no income and am trying to break my candy addiction (again).

Anyway, I actually liked this soup! This recipe makes 4 1-cup-ish servings, and reheats well. On the down side, it may make you cry. A lot.

Ingredients:

3 red onions

4 cups beef broth

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon semi-salted butter

2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

pinch of black pepper

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

you'll also need:

a bowl

small bowl

big pot with lid (like a dutch oven)

heat-proof spoon

1. peel the first onion and slice it in half down the middle. Cut-side down, slice it thinly, putting the slices in a large bowl.  Repeat with the remaining onions, taking time to wipe your eyes whenever you start crying or literally can't see through the tears. I keep hearing that cold onions make you cry less, but I never remember to do that part.

2. mince the garlic and put it in a small bowl. Add the thyme and black pepper to the same bowl.

3. heat the butter and olive oil in the big pot over medium heat. Once the butter had melted, add the onions and the garlic, thyme and pepper. Cook them, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to soften.

4. stir in the vinegar, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes. The onions will begin sticking to the bottom of the pot.

5. remove the cover from the pot, and add the broth and Worcestershire sauce.

6. scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any stuck-on bits, and increase the heat to medium. Bring the soup to a simmer, then reduce the heat and keep simmering for 10 minutes.

7. serve the soup (in an onion soup bowl if you have one), or transfer it to a container for storage in the fridge. If you're storing it for later, the beast way to reheat it is in a saucepan over medium heat.

I got this recipe from Clean Eating Magazine: Classic Comfort Foods issue. The only thing I changed is that I used semi-salted butter instead of unsalted butter with salt added to the seasoning mix. I also left off the bread-and-cheese topping.