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French Onion Soup, Gluten-Free and Downtown Style

Fall is right around the corner, I say reluctantly, with marginally less of a tan than I had at this time last year. As much as I wish not to wish summer away, I am a sucker for fall. I am a cozy sweater fiend, a pumpkin patch regular, and a lover of fall comfort food. That’s why I took it upon myself to prepare the masses for the fall season with French onion soup – Downtown style.

This was my first time attempting this dish that I had only seen in ominous pubs and restaurants, but just never thought to try it. It didn’t help of course, that I have Celiac Disease which prevents me from having gluten and therefore the bready, hearty, decadent soup such as this one.

It wasn’t until I saw a TikTok of the dish being made that I decided I had to have it – and modify it to be gluten-free – regardless of the fact that it is July.

I gathered my nearest family members and got to work. My family is full of restaurant industry veterans, two of which helped me achieve such a task. We didn’t follow a recipe and just went with our gut!

Recipe

Here are the ingredients you will want to add to your grocery list:

3 onions; one white, one yellow, and one sweet.
4 garlic cloves
Beef broth (or bouillon)
1 cup of Swiss
1 cup of gruyere
Fresh thyme
1 gluten-free baguette
Extra virgin olive oil
Butter
White wine (we used Riesling)
Salt and pepper to taste

The first task was to cut the onions. We used three variations; one white, one yellow, and one sweet. Slice them into slivers and toss them into a large pan on low heat. You’ll want this to be ideally large enough to house your whole soup. Prime your pan with a douse of EVOO and two pats of butter. Sweat and sauté the onions until they turn golden and completely caramelized.

In a pot on the side, prepare your broth. You can use beef broth for this, but instead, we boiled water and added beef bouillon. Add more or less to taste. Throw in some fresh thyme.

Once your onions are decadently caramelized, add in 3 cloves of minced garlic, a pinch of salt, pepper, and sugar. Let this flavorful mixture combine before de-glazing the pan with a splash of white wine. We used Riesling.

Thyme for the broth, garlic for the onions.

Next, you’ll want to ladle your broth into the onion pan. This will help to gradually introduce flavors before you pour the rest in. Go ahead and do that now. Let your soup simmer while you prepare your other ingredients.

Slice your baguette on the bias at about one inch. We used one from Against The Grain, the brand I go-to for all of my gluten-free recipes that involve bread. The bread is made from tapioca starch and mozzarella cheese, so it mimics that glutinous stretchy texture. It’s delicious. Pop the pieces on a baking sheet and drizzle your olive oil over them. Bake until lightly golden and crispy.

While you wait for your bread to toast, grate your Swiss and gruyere. Combine them in a separate bowl and set them aside.

Once the bread is out of the oven, rub a fresh-sliced clove of garlic to each face of every slice. This step is crucial and adds so much necessary flavor that really comes through in the end.

Ladle your soup into oven-safe bowls or ramekins, and top each with a few slices of bread. Work quickly as you can to avoid letting the bread sink into the soup. Top the ramekins with a generous helping of cheese. In hindsight, we could’ve topped ours with even more. Don’t be afraid to be generous.

Top each with more fresh thyme, and throw them back into the oven to broil for roughly five minutes.

Take the bubbly bowls of love out of the oven and dig in. Find that the bread soaks up the rich broth and that the umami flavor of the cheese pairs wonderfully with the sweet onions. I hope you love this dish a much as I do, having had it for the very first time. I certainly don’t think it will be my last. Bon appetit, Downtowners!

For more Downtown recipes, click here.

Libbie Summers dishes out a fantastic new cookbook, Sweet & Vicious focusing on sweet treats with gusto! Her prior success, The Whole Hog Cookbook honed in on succulent delights and now Summers presents new recipes with over-the-top sweet flavor profiles and fearless presentation highlighted by photographer Chia Chong. Summers vibrant personality shines bright through the use of language and personal accounts of how each recipe was conceived (not to mention the colorful neon aesthetic of the book overall–the pages have pink ends with yellow binding!). Be sure to brighten your day with this delightful fruity tart recipe!

Stoned Tart (rum, stone fruits, pistachio cream)

Serves 8

¾ Cup All-Purpose Flour

2 Tablespoons Yellow Cornmeal

¼ Cup Plus 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Infused Sugar

4 Tablespoons Cold Butter, Cubed

2 to 4 Tablespoons Ice Water

¾ Cup Shelled Pistachios

¼ Cup Heavy Cream

½ Teaspoon Almond Extract (Blend 1 Cup of Vodka and Almonds Together)

5 Stone Fruits (Any Mixture of Apricots, Peaches, Nectarines or Plums) Pitted and Sliced with Skins On

2 Tablespoons of Dark Brown Sugar

2 Teaspoons Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Tablespoon Gosling’s Black Seal Rum

½ Teaspoon Citrus Extract (Blend vanilla, orange and lemon extract to taste)

Pinch of Salt

Ice Cream or Whipped Cream, to Serve

1) In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, and ¾ cup vanilla sugar. Cut in the butter using your fingers or two knives. Add 2 tablespoons ice water to the dough and stir to combine. Continue to add ice water by the tablespoon until the dough comes together (this should take no more than 4 tablespoons). Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, wrap well, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2) Ina food processor with the blade attachment, pulse the pistachios until roughly chopped. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar, heavy cream, and almond extract. Pulse until a thick paste forms. Set aside.

3) In a large mixing bowl, stir the fruit slices together with the brown sugar, lemon juice, rum, citrus extract, cinnamon, and salt.

4) Spray 9 ½ -inch round, 9-inch square, or 13 ¾-inch rectangular tart pan with removable bottom wit nonstick baking spray. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap it. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to ¾-inch thick. Drape and press the dough into the prepared pan, covering the bottom and sides, with some overhang.

5) Roll a rolling pin over the edges of the tart pan to clearly cut off the excess dough. Spread the pistachio mixture over the bottom of the dough and arrange the fruit slices on top. Refrigerate to firm up the dough while the oven is preheating.

6) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil.

7) Transfer the tart from the refrigerator to the baking sheet and bake in the lower third of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, until the fruit begins to bubble. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

For behind the scenes footage of the books production, please visit: libbiesummers.com/videos/sweet-and-vicious-cookbook-the-film

-Joseph Amella, Jr.