French Onion Soup

Note to self: Can we just take a moment to savor this picture? How yummy does that look? This was one of the heartiest flavorful-est soups I’ve made and it came out super delicious! I’ve never had french onion soup before but have always wanted to try it. Most have beef broth and wine incorporated in it and I wanted to make a halal version so I can finally experience it for myself. I adapted this recipe from Half Baked Harvest and she’s one of my favorite food bloggers! She has so many delicious recipes and I haven’t gone wrong yet with any of her recipes. This bowl of french onion soup is a must try! The only thing I can recommend is to have proper ventilation when making this soup or else your place will smell like onions for days.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter cubed
½ tbsp minced garlice
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 large sweet onions thinly sliced
1 ½ tbsp flour
4 cups beef broth (I made my own using beef bones, and meat and veggies but you can try substituting with 4 halal maggi chicken bouillon cubes and 4 cups water)
¾ cup of water
½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of dried thyme
Pinch of fresh thyme
16 ounces potato gnocchi
Crusty french bread cut into slices
1 1/2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

Directions:

In a large pot over medium high heat melt 3 tbsp of butter.
Add ½ tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp brown sugar and 2 large thinly sliced sweet onions. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are deep golden brown and caramelized ~15 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and sprinkle1 ½ tbsp flour over the onions, stirring the flour into the onions. Cook for ~ 5 minutes.
Add 4 cups of beef broth, ¾ cups of water, ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 bay leaf, pinch of black pepper and mix well
Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the potato gnocchi and cook until the gnocchi floats. ~5 minutes
Remove bay leaf and ladle the soup into oven safe bowls. Add slices of the crusty french bread.
Top evenly with cheese. Place each soup bowl on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven, broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh thyme and eat!