French Onion Soup

Hello and welcome to the first post from the Makeshift Kitchen. I hope that this blog can be useful to chefs of dormitories, tiny apartments, or just the general lazy passerby who may be short on cash.  I am well acquainted with late nights desiring delicious food with little pocket money and incredibly unsatisfactory equipment. I hope I can offer some tasty food with little need for either of those things.

Today I made French Onion Soup. I don’t quite remember how I found this recipe but it was discovered somewhere in the seas of the net as most of my recipes will be. I’m not a big soup fan but I am in love with onions. As far as french onion soup goes, I’ve seen it in restaurants and on strange cans at the supermarket but I’d never considered making it. 

Servings: 2-3

Difficulty: Medium (some patience and some cheese melting required)

Time: 1-1.5 hours

Leftoverability: Unknown (we ate it all)

Price: ~4€ or 6$ (see price tips at bottom**) 

Recipe break down: Cook butter, onions and flour. Add broth. Cook more. Melt cheese on bread. Eat.

Ingredients:

  • 3 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tbsp flour
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • French bread, cut in 1/2 inch slices
  • 1/4 cup swiss cheese, grated (Gruyère recommended)

Soup preparation:

  1. In a pot over moderate heat, cook the onions and butter for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Stir frequently, sniff more frequently (it smells delicious)!
  2. Sprinkle on flour and stir for 3 minutes.
  3. Slowly stir the broth into the onions until it comes to a boil.
  4. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
  5. Pour on top of cheesy bread*.
  6. Add salt and pepper to your liking.
  7. Destroy!

*Cheesy Bread! preparation: Two options

ONE: toast bread slices, put bread in bowl, put 1 tbsp cheese on bread, pour soup on cheese.

ORRRRRRRR!

TWO: toast some bread, put 1 tbsp cheese on top, put combo in oven and broil (or toaster oven for less equipped kitchens), put combo in bowl, pour soup on top. (Blogger preferred)

**Price notes and minimizers:

  • Can be cheaper if you already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen. I typically keep onions, butter, and flour on hand. That’s half the ingredients.
  • Use bouillon cubes to keep the price low. Boil the bouillon in a little more than 3 cups of water while you’re cooking the onions for a few minutes.
  • Use white bread and cut into fours. Maybe it’s not as delicious as french bread, but hey it’s cheaper.