By Chloe Moino
Staff Writer
@_chloechristine

I don’t know if you can technically call this “French Onion Soup” since it’s very far from the classic, but it’s still so good nonetheless. There are a lot of aromatic additions to the broth, so the end product is something super flavorful and comforting.

Ingredients

8 cups chicken broth
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 oz dried oyster mushrooms
3 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
3 large yellow onions
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp truffle oil
2 tsp olive oil
¼ tsp paprika
½ tsp fresh thyme
¼ tsp fresh sage
2 tbsp port wine
1 baguette
fontinella cheese grated on top
salt and pepper

Pour eight cups of chicken broth into a large pot. Put the heat on high and begin to prepare the ingredients.

Place all of the mushrooms (whole) with one bay leaf into the broth. Crush two of the garlic cloves (don’t mince) and put into the broth. Rough chop (into quarters or sixths) one of the onions and place in the broth. Keep the heat on high, and steep the ingredients together for 30 minutes to an hour – the longer the better.

Slice the other two onions into thin half moon shapes. Melt the butter in a large saute pan and add the truffle and olive oil. Once hot, add all of the onions to the pot and coat them with the oil. After about five minutes, add the salt, pepper, fresh thyme and sage, paprika and one minced garlic clove. Do not rush the process of caramelizing the onions: cooking the onions all the way through will take about 30 more minutes.

After about 25 minutes, add the port wine. Scrape all of the little bits off of the bottom of the pan, and continue cooking for about five to ten more minutes or until the onions are no longer firm and are super sweet.

Once the aromatics are done steeping, strain it so you are left just with the smooth broth. Add the finished onions and oil along with it to the pot of broth. Ladel some into a bowl, grate the cheese on top, and serve with a baguette.