from Messy in the Kitchen
Oh yeah, you read that right. French onion soup was a recipe I wanted to add to this lovely culinary novel but that seemed a little too straightforward for me, so BLAM-MO…I made that salty, oniony delight into a freaking sandwich. The best part of French onion soup is the bread and the cheese anyways, am I right? So, let’s embark on a taste-bud-provoking treat, perfect for literally any time of the day. The caramelized onions keep in the fridge covered for a week.
Ingredients
2 yellow onions, sliced
4 tbsp salted butter
2 tbsp flour
¾ cup beef broth
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup Gruyere cheese, grated
½ cup Swiss cheese, grated
¼ cup Parmesan, grated
1 tbsp butter
2 slices of sourdough bread for each sandwich you plan on grilling
Directions
Caramelize the onions, making them a la French onion soup. In a Dutch oven, or a pan with tall sides (so the onions don’t end up all over your stovetop), heat over medium-low heat and add the butter. Then start adding in the onions; you can start to cook them in batches and once they start to soften you can create more space in the pan for more onion-y goodness. This is a sloooooooowwwwwww-ass process so make sure you have a goblet of wine nearby to keep you occupied. Keep stirring the onions every few minutes. If they start browning too fast, lower the temperature. If the pan starts to get dry, add a knob of butter. Just keep an eye on these suckers. After about 15-20 minutes they start to enter Caramelized Onion Land, but they’re still not quite there. After about another 15-20 minutes you should be closing in on the sweet spot.
Pour yourself more wine.
Now to give the real nod to the French onion soup. Add in ½ cup of beef broth (reserve ¼ of the broth for the slurry) and bring to a simmer. Now take the ¼ cup of the beef broth that’s been set aside to make your slurry; add 1 tbsp of flour and mix it well to get rid of any lumps. Slowly add the slurry to the onions and broth mixture. It will start to thicken almost immediately.
Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste.
Time to assemble this Son of a B! Like any other grilled cheese you’ve created before you gotta butter the outside of the bread. Don’t be shy. Then give a sprinkle of that parmesan to the buttered bread. It’s gonna be on the outside of the bread so you can get that crunchy-heavenly-burnt-cheese-thing happening. Its decadent.
With your pan on medium heat, add the first slice of buttered/parm bread to the pan, buttered side down. Then sprinkle on a mixture of the cheese blend. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the onion concoction on top of the cheese. Now another heavy-handed helping of the cheese mixture. Then top off with the remaining cheesy/buttered slice of bread. It should look like a sandwich now.
Flip the sandwich after about 3 minutes to grill up the opposite side. Let it cook another 3 minutes. If the cheese isn’t melted to your desired meltyness, put a lid on the pan and drop the heat to avoid burning.
Once the cheese is melted and the bread is grilled through, you’ve got yourself a damn French Onion Soup Grilled Cheese. Cut in half whichever way your little heart desires. No one here is judging you, but diagonal is the only real way to cut a sandwich, if you have any self-respect.
Semi-pro tip: I find slow cooking things to be the most therapeutic thing. Put on some jams, give yourself a heavy pour of your libation of choice and take your time. Slow ‘n’ low. It’s worth it in the end. You can use any leftover onions in eggs, salads, rice dishes and pastas. They’re great to have on hand to give a dish a little extra love.
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: Change up the cheese to your liking and adjust the beef broth to ensure its not overly runny (or add more slurry). Add fries or a salad for a full meal!
Courtesy of Renée Paquette, Messy in the Kitchen © 2021. Published by Permuted Press, reprinted with permission. Cover photography by Manny Rosario. Interior photography by Gaby Duong. Food styling by Jackie Sobon. https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Messy-In-The-Kitchen/Renee-Paquette/9781682619384
