Skip to main content

French Onion Soup - Instant Pot

FINALLY, I made good french onion soup.

This post comes after many attempts at making good french onion soup. I got hooked on french onion soup back when Panera was St. Louis Bread Company and their french onion soup was delicious (it's not worthwhile anymore), and in the 16 years since I left St. Louis, I've been trying to find a decent recipe.

Thank you, instant pot.

The recipe is from Gimme Delicious and I followed it exactly, except that I halved the entire recipe but kept the full quantity of garlic.

It only gets pressure cooked for 5 minutes, so I don't know if the pressure cooking is the secret. I think part of the instant pot magic here is that the "saute" function is at the perfect temperature for caramelizing onions. Normally, when I do that part in a pot, I get impatient and turn up the heat too high and it doesn't work. This took just under an hour but it came out perfectly. I think it would have been quicker in a big instant pot, since the onions stacked up pretty high in my little one.

Another key, I think, is the quality of the beef broth. I followed the original recipe's suggestion and used College Inn beef broth. This was unintentional... the real reason I chose College Inn is because it was the only beef broth at Trader Joe's. But I considered that another vote for College Inn, and it worked out well.

One day I might get fancy and broil the cheese in the bowls, but I just microwaved it, and it was fine.

I served it with tuna over greens. 


The Recipe:
1 lb yellow onions, sliced (about 3 large onions)
2 tb butter
1/2 tb brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tb flour
32 oz beef broth (1 tall box)
1 tb balsamic vinegar
baguette slices and swiss cheese, for serving
  • Place onion slices, butter, and brown sugar in instant pot on saute mode. Stir occasionally for about 45 minutes, until onions are caramelized.
  • Add flour and garlic. Stir for 1 minute.
  • Add beef broth and vinegar.
  • Pressure cook for 5 minutes. The original recipe says to do quick release, but I let it release naturally.
  • Top with toasted baguette slices and swiss cheese, and broil or microwave until cheese is melted.

The Verdict:
Overall grade: A
Overall reason: Delicious flavor, easy except for the time it takes to caramelize onions.
Time to prepare: An hour and a half
Kid quote: "Make sure to serve this with something green, so we are healthy." (He then ate his spinach and kale leaves before touching his soup, bread, or tuna.)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.
2 comments
Read more

Pickled radishes

I made those! When the CSA box hands you radishes, you eat one. Then you try to give the rest to the neighbors. Then, left with no other option, you pickle them. Then you discover that the pickled radishes are really good. I followed  this super-simple method from My Korean Kitchen . I picked it because it had good reviews on Pinterest, but mostly because it was easy, and I wasn't willing to dedicate a lot of time and effort to these things that none of us really liked. But it turns out that they are delicious.  As is clear from the original recipe, these are good with Korean food. They are also good on Vietnamese rice bowls. And they are PERFECT on salad with hard boiled egg and honey-mustard dressing. And the toddler ate half of them in one sitting, just as a snack. We might actually need to buy more radishes. The Recipe: 1 bunch radishes 1 c water 1 c sugar 1 c white vinegar Pinch of salt Thinly slice the radish bulbs and place them in gla...
1 comment
Read more

Spicy Tomato Jam

Little pot of bubbling goodness seeks lentil patties, sweet potato fries, or pretty much anything else. I recently made  this recipe  from Crumb Blog for lentil patties with tomato jam. The lentil patties were pretty good, but the tomato jam was really something to write home about. It's one of those foods that makes you feel warm, even when it's cold. It has just the right balance of sweetness, acidity, and spice. The mustard seeds are a must (haha, must ard seeds). Their crunch, and the little burst of toasty peppery flavor that follows, are amazing in contrast to the rest of the flavors. The next time you're tempted to put ketchup on something, consider this instead.  I have a little bit of this gold left over in the freezer. I'm thinking I may thin it out with vegetable broth and use it as a sauce for a stir-fry. Stay tuned for the results. The only change I made to this recipe was upping the amount of mustard seeds. I think 1 tsp is the perfect a...
1 comment
Read more