French Onion Soup with Irish Stout and Garlic Bread
With St. Patrick’s Day only being a couple of days away, I had to try my hand at making a traditional feeling Irish inspired dish. This soup is a play on a few different cultural aspects, but it was incredibly flavorful and delicious. Wow! What a punch!
This soup has the rich, sweet tones of caramelized onions mixed with the deep and bitter undertones of the Irish stout. I ended up using a Guinness stout as it was familiar, but I can only imagine how different this soup could taste using something a bit more local or small batch. Topped with deliciously buttery and crispy garlic bread and melted white cheddar cheese, this soup is so rich that we had to take breaks in between bites. It’s a perfect way to celebrate the holiday!
ingredients & recipe:
SERVES 6
6 tbsp salted butter
4 medium onions, sliced thinly
3 tbsp brown sugar
4 cups chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
22 oz Guinness Stout or other Irish Stout
1 tbsp stone ground mustard
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
1-2 cups sharp white cheddar, shredded
FOR THE GARLIC BREAD:
1 loaf of sourdough or French bread, sliced
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1 head roasted garlic
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 425° F. On a small baking sheet, place a piece of tinfoil. Slice the top quarter off of the head of garlic (for the garlic bread), exposing the cloves inside. Place the head of garlic on the foil and drizzle with a few teaspoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap the tinfoil up around the garlic and enclose. Roast for 25-30 minutes. Set aside.
In a large stockpot, melt the butter. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar and about 1/2 cup of broth. Continue to cook until caramelized, about 40 minutes.
Once the onions have caramelized, add in the garlic and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have browned and begun releasing their own juices. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper.
Toss the vegetables with the flour and stir to coat. Pour in the broth slowly, stirring as you pour, and bring the soup to a boil. Add the stout, mustard, and the bay leaves. Lower the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until the soup begins to thicken.
While the soup is simmering, lower the oven to 400° F. In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter and roasted garlic by squeezing the roasted cloves from their skin. Mix with the parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Spread the butter mixture over the slices of bread. Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until they are lightly browned and crispy.
Once cool enough to handle, chop the bread into chunks. Turn on the broiler to high heat.
Ladle the soup into oven safe bowls such as ramekins. Place chunks of garlic bread into the soup and top with shredded white cheddar cheese. Broil for about 3-5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.
Serve hot garnished with freshly chopped parsley.
I really loved this soup with lots of fresh parsley. As the soup is so rich and thick, the little hint of greens gives it a fresh taste. I think this is a particularly good soup recipe to have on hand as we teeter between the seasons. Perfect to enjoy a crisp spring evening.
xoxo Kayla
