As we continue along Epcot’s World Showcase in our weekly Cooking Around the World blog series we find ourselves at the France Pavillon. After passing over the Pont des Arts inspired footbridge you will be met with cobblestone lined streets, flower carts, streetside artists and of course, a replica of the Eiffel Tower. This week I decided to recreate a dish from Chefs de France, which is one of our favorite restaurants to book for our families within the France Pavillon. And what better menu item to cook than their delicious French Onion soup!

French Onion Soup

France Pavillon
Chefs de France

French Onion Soup is a well-known classic. With a combination of sweet caramelized onions, rich beef broth and a delicious cheesee crusted top, this is the ultimate comfort food. Thankfully, it is super easy to make as well! The recipe I chose to follow was found on Spend With Pennies and it turned out amazing. Follow along below to see the process!

Ingredients:
6 serving

• 3 large onions, peeled and sliced
• ½ teaspoon brown sugar (optional)
• ⅓ cup butter
• 8 cups beef broth
• ⅓ cup dry white wine
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 baguette
• 3 cups gruyere cheese
• 6 tablespoons fresh parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Slice onions ¼” thick then cook them for about 30-45 minutes while stirring occasionally over low heat in melted butter until golden.

2. Add wine, beef broth, bay leaf, thyme, black pepper and worcestershire. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Remove bay leaf and thyme and discard.

3. Meanwhile, slice bread and brush with olive oil. Broil 2 minutes per side or until golden.

4. Ladle soup into ceramic bowls. Add 2 slices of bread in each bowl. Divide cheeses over bowls and broil until golden and bubbly.

The first step is to cut up all of your onions. If your eyes typically water while cutting an onion, try placing it in the freezer for about 5 minutes before cutting and make sure you’re using a very sharp knife when slicing.

It is important to cook the onions slowly and keep a watchful eye on them to ensure they do not brown and instead become soft and golden. If you would like to prep your onions the evening before to save some time, you can caramelize your onions in a slow cooker instead.

After my onions were the perfect color and texture, I added in the rest of the ingredients. This is when it became time to play the waiting game!

In order to successfully achieve all of those decadent flavors that make French Onion Soup so special it requires about an hour of simmering. Once finished the broth should be transparent with some caramel coloring.

This next step is super important! Putting the sliced pieces of baguette in the oven and broiling them before adding them to the soup helps ensure that they do not immediately fall apart.

I kept them in there for about two minutes per side and made sure they were perfectly golden. Having toasty bread is vital for the overall texture and structure of your soup.

Finally, I poured the soup into oven safe bowls, added the bread, placed the cheese on top and broiled it until it started bubbling. While any and all cheese combinations are acceptable, I highly recommend using gruyere as suggested – it is extremely flavorful and gives the soup a delicious, creamy texture on top.

All ovens are different, so be sure to watch your soup closely while broiling to ensure the cheese does not burn!

Overall, while this was the easiest recipe I have recreated so far, it was also one of the most flavorful. All of the ingredients really came together into a perfect and delicious combination. I thought my little ones (ages 2 and 4) would be skeptical to try this dish, as they are not the biggest fans of onions, but they surprised me by finishing their bowls clean! I can definitely see myself making this recipe again in the near future.

Follow us on social media so you can follow our Cooking Around the World Showcase journey. Next week, we are recreating a special dish from Morocco! Can you guess which one we chose?

About Me

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Hi everyone! My name is Kara and I am so excited to help you plan a magical Disney vacation. My love of Disney started during my very first trip there in March of 1994. Disney quickly became my family’s “happy place”. There was never any question, when it was time for a vacation, we packed our bags and headed to the most magical place on Earth. Nowadays, it is extra special for me to experience the Disney magic again through the eyes of my 4 year old son, Liam, and 2 year old daughter, Jennie. Seeing their eyes light up when Mickey and Minnie pass by and seeing their faces all sticky from Mickey ice cream bars make special memories that only Disney can bring. I can’t wait to help you build those memories together as a family!