French Onion Soup.

They say this is a poor man's soup. History states that this was common in the Roman Empire and then became more popular in the 18th century and was upgrade with the addition of toasted bread and cheese. It then again became popular in the 60's when French cooking became trendy. I say that this soup is well worth the effort! It was cheap but a bit time consuming. Most of all, I was surprised my two year old Leta loved it! She just couldn't get enough!

There isn't a whole lot of ingredients and you can always sub what you like. I made mine vegetarian. But you are welcome to use beef or veal broth. The only thing I didn't have on hand was the Vienna bread and Thyme. Not too bad on the wallet.

Ingredients:

Three large yellow or Spanish onions, peeled and sliced

1 stick of unsalted butter

1 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of EVOO

1 1/2 quarts of broth (veg, chicken, beef or veal.)

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 teaspoon of dried parsley

1 teaspoon of dried thyme (or one sprig of fresh thyme)

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Vienna bread toasted

Provolone or swiss cheese (If you buy the prepackage by the faux cheeses, I swear I will hunt your ISP down and slap you silly! Get the real stuff!)

Directions:

1) In your pan melt the butter and add in the oil, garlic, thyme, parsley and bay leaf.

2) Watch this video, it will explain caramelized onions far better then I could. Just add the onions to the melted butter in step one.

3) After the onions are done, add into a larger pan the broth, onions, worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. Cook on medium high for twenty to thirty minutes. This would be the time to taste and add seasons as needed.

4) Cut your bread to fit what your cooking in, butter and toast like you would grilled cheese. Until it's golden brown.

5) Ladle soup into a oven proof bowl, cup or ramekin. Leave enough room for the bread, top with cheese and place cheese on top.

6) Place on a pan and under your broiler until golden brown.

7) Enjoy!