My thirty-ninth recipe with Wednesday with Donna Hay is French Onion Soup, found in Modern Classics I on page 27, and also here on Donna Hay's website.
The ingredient list: onions, olive oil, butter, thyme, flour, brandy, Dijon, beef stock, and water.
Anyone who knows me at all, knows that French Onion Soup is probably my favorite thing to have for lunch (or dinner) and that whenever I go out, if it is on the menu, I order it. I eat French Onion Soup at least once a week. I have made probably a hundred different French Onion Soup recipes as I can't resist trying a new one when it comes along. Some are better than others. This recipe is a good one.
Most onion soups start out with more or less the same ingredients, as does this one. Browning the onions slowly and to the correct color is key, no rushing it. Using GOOD beef stock is another key, you want that flavor to stand out a bit (if you are using unsalted beef stock, you will need to add a little salt). The thyme is classic. The added brandy was good, it added a depth of flavor and a little something that stood out but did not scream, "There is Brandy/Alcohol in this soup!" I really liked the addition of the Dijon mustard, I had never had that in a French Onion Soup before, and really did like the flavor it imparted, Dijon and onions are a worthy match for one another, each keeping its own flavor but not overwhelming the other. (Do not use regular yellow mustard in this recipe, use Dijon as she states.)
As good as FOS is the day you make it, it gets even better as the days go by as the flavors all deepen and "marry" into one another. There's a certain know-how to making good French Onion Soup, and this recipe has all the right stuff to make the base a wonderful addition to my FOS recipe stash. All in all, this is definitely a keeper, one that I will make again and again. I made the WHOLE batch so I have a lot of FOS to look forward to this week! (Big smile on my face at just the thought.)
Wonder what the others thought? Gaye's post on this is here. Margaret's post is here. Chaya's post is here. Next week is Margaret's choice: Food Processor Banana Cake, from Off the Shelf, page 160, or you can perhaps find it online here. Join us and leave a link to your post, no commitment required.