Irish Onion Soup

Ever since eating awesome French Onion Soup in Paris & then again in Quebec, I decided I needed to make my own once the weather turned. So at the very first sign of fall, I pulled out my trusty Le Creuset Dutch oven & got to caramelizing onions!

I researched a few recipes and the one that ended up really catching my eye, was actually Irish Onion Soup. Essentially the same, but with a few splashes of Irish whiskey & a fair amount of Guinness. And let’s face it, Guinness really can’t hurt anything, right?

It ended up adding a nutty, subtle smokey flavor to the soup making it the flavors that much richer & deeper! I topped it with the traditional sliced baguette pieces & Comte cheese, which melts beautifully under the broiler.

With a winter as long as we have, this recipe will be on repeat, possibly paired with a Croque Monsieur to really take us back to Paris.

Irish onion soup, adapted from Tasting Table & Williams Sonoma

Serves 8
Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 medium yellow onions, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/3 cup brandy (we were fresh out of Irish whiskey)
• 3 Tbsp flour
• Pinch of kosher salt, plus 2 tsp
• 1 cup Guinness Stout (or similar dark beer)
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 12 cups beef stock
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Day old baguette slices
• Sliced or grated Comte cheese (gruyere or Irish cheddar work too)

Method:

1. In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter, cook onions over medium, medium/low heat for an hour, careful not to burn/brown the onions. (They’ll brown as they caramelize, but you don’t want them browning like you would sautéing) Stirring every so often.
2. Add whiskey, flour, pinch of salt & cook for about 4 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic, cook til fragrant, about 2 minutes.
3. Add Guinness and summer until reduced by 1/3, about 5 minutes.
4. Add broth, thyme, pepper and remaining salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.
5. Remove thyme.
6. Ladle into oven safe bowls and top with day old baguette slices and sliced or grated comte cheese. Place under the broiler until cheese is bubbly & toast is browned – be careful- some broilers are super hot & don’t take more than a minute!