French Onion Soup with Red Wine

A couple of days ago on my timehop I realized that last year I was in New Orleans for my friends bachelorette party. As I scrolled through all of the pictures I kept seeing all the amazing food we ate when we were there. The beignets, the etoufee, the gumbo, the grits. All of it, so heavenly. On our last day my friend and I ordered a French Onion Soup from Royal House Oyster Bar. I’ll never forget it. It was so rich and flavorful. I asked the waitress what the secret was. She said it’s all about the wine, and that they used a dry red. I had to try to recreate it.

I had previously only made French Onion Soup with white wine before. My husband and I had a bottle of Malolactix and I decided to give this funky wine a shot (plus we go to drink what we didn’t use). The soup turned out just how I wanted it too. Rich, cheesy and flavorful. The funkiness of this natural wine gave it a little more of an earthy flavor, that paired well with the caramelized onions.

I used my Le Creuset mini coquettes (find them here) so I could broil the cheese on top of the bread. If you do not have coquettes or something similar I would recommend slicing the bread, covering the pieces with cheese, and placing it on a cookie sheet to make a cheesy bread to place in your bowls.

I broiled my soup in my air fryer that has a broiling option. This to me was easier than using my oven. I AM OBSESSED with my air fryer from Cuisinart. It air fries, bakes, toasts, broils. I could rave for days. I honestly feel like I’ve been using it more than my oven. There are more air fryer recipes coming, I promise!

French Onion Soup with Red Wine

A French Onion Soup that's rich, cheesy and full of flavor

Print Pin Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Keyword: French, Onion, Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 coquettes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 lbs yellow onions, thinly sliced (around 6 medium sized onions)
• ½ cup dry red wine
• ¼ cup flour
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 sprigs thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon beef bouillon powder
• 1 large french baguette
• 1 cup shredded Swiss
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

• 1. In a large pot heat the olive oil and butter together on medium low heat. When the butter is melted add in the sliced onions. Stir until the onions are coated with the butter and oil. Cook and cover for 20 minutes.

  2. Remove the cover and turn the heat up to medium high. Stir frequently. The onions will begin to brown and caramelize. Continue to cook until the onions are fully caramelized, around 15 minutes.

  3. Stir in the garlic until fragrant, around 1 minute. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the red wine. Use the wine to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add in the thyme and cook the wine until reduced in half, around 2 minutes.

  4. Add the beef stock, bouillon and bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to low to simmer for 30-40 minutes.

  5. Divide the soup into coquettes around 3/4 full. Add a slice of the baguette and top with the Swiss and Gruyere cheese. I added my soup to the broiler of my air fryer that has a broiling option. I found this was easier than using my oven. I broiled on 450° for 10 minutes. If you are using an oven to broil, I would check and see where you are at at 5 minutes, and continue to broil to desired.