Onions are an essential ingredient in so many meals. But this French onion soup recipe will make you appreciate them like never before.

French onion soup is different from most other onion dishes, because it puts onions front and center (but ironically also under a layer of bread and cheese!)

So if you’re currently in a situation where you have lots of onions to spare, then you can make the most of them with this perfect French onion soup recipe.

Here are the ingredients that you need if you’re serving eight people:

Three large onions.

A quarter cup of butter.

Two teaspoons of salt.

One teaspoon of black pepper.

Eight cups of beef/vegetable broth.

Half a cup of red wine.

One bay leaf.

One teaspoon of thyme.

Two beef bouillon cubes.

Two teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce.

A baguette.

Eight ounces of Gruyere cheese.

A quarter cup of grated parmesan cheese.

Firstly, cut the onions up into thin rings. Then place them with the butter, salt and pepper in the slow cooker.

Set the slow cooker to high and leave the onions to tenderize. This should take three to four hours.

Once the onions have become tender, stir them and then add in the broth, the wine, the bay leaf, the thyme, the bouillon and the Worcestershire sauce.

Keep the slow cooker on high for another two to three hours.

When the two to three hours have passed, put the soup into bowls that can go into the oven.

Set the oven to broil. Slice quarter-inch-thick pieces of baguette and place these on top of the soup. Cover the bread/top of the soup with the cheese.

Put the bowls under the broiler on a baking sheet. Leave them there for just two to three minutes, until the cheese has melted into the bread.

Then serve and enjoy!

If you want to make this dish quicker, then you can melt the butter in a Dutch Oven on a stovetop and fry the onions until they’re tender.

Then add all of the other ingredients, bring it to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Keep the Dutch Oven uncovered and keep it cooking for one hour. Then copy the broiler instructions above.

If you don’t have Gruyere cheese, you can use Swiss cheese, mozzarella cheese or many other kinds of cheese.

And it’s up to you to choose what kind of onions to include in the dish. You probably already know the kind of onions you like best.

Most people know French onion soup as a starter. And it’s true that this dish would make an ideal starter. But there’s also nothing stopping you from piling on the bread and cheese and serving it as a main.

Alternatively, you can serve the French onion soup with something on the side.

The opportunities here are almost endless. You could opt for a sandwich, like a grilled chicken pesto panini, a BLT or a steak sandwich. Or you could opt for a leafy salad, some roasted mushrooms, some fried salmon or whatever’s in the fridge that needs cooking fast!

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Source: Cookies & Cups, Jane’s Kitchen