While I am not a fan of raw onions, and prefer the, “less is more” option when it comes to them, I really love French onion soup. It’s time consuming to caramelize the onions, but otherwise it’s very easy, and also lends itself well to substitution for various diets! I made this with gluten-free flour, and homemade chunky gluten-free croutons.

• 5-6 onions – I prefer yellow onions – very thinly sliced
• 3-4 tablespoons butter or butter substitute (I used SmartBalance)
• Garlic cloves to taste – I used around 5
• 3-4 tablespoons of flour – match this to your butter. I used GF one-for-one measure
• 1/2-1 cup of white wine
• 2 cartons (8 cups) of beef stock – use veggie stock to make this vegetarian
• Worcestershire sauce to taste – I used about 2 teaspoons
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt
• Pepper
• Grated cheese – this is very flexible, I have used everything from a mix of Gruyere and Swiss, to Parmesan, to Gouda. Something on the nutty side is great

The reason I don’t have hard and fast measurements here is because it depends on how much stock you are going to add. If you’re going for more than 8 cups, you will want to go to the higher end of the butter and flour, and probably also the garlic. I like to make a lot when I make a time consuming soup like this, so I do go on the higher side.

First, you will need to caramelize the onions. Melt butter or butter sub, and then add the onions. Saute until the get a little bit of browning, and then drop the heat to low and stir every few minutes. As they caramelize, you will need to stir a bit more often to prevent burning and sticking. This should take 30-45 minutes, depending on how many onions.

After the onions caramelize, add the garlic and stir for a minute or so. Then add the wine to deglaze the pan. Add the stock, Wocestershire, bay leaves, thyme, and a bit of salt and pepper (you will add more of this later to taste. Simmer the soup for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your taste, and season with salt and pepper.

If you are making a more traditional soup, you can use sliced baguettes and toast them, then top the soup, and add cheese. Because I like to make everything ahead, I used the GF croutons that I had already baked.

I have seen recipes for French onion soup variations to include gnocchi, and another for tortellini. This might be a great way to make the soup more substantial, but it is very filling on its own with the bread and cheese!