Solar Cooking Recipe – French Onion Soup

French onion soup is comforting and gratifying. The flavors of caramelized onions are deep, the soup soaked bread with melted stringy cheese is hearty and the combination of all flavors and textures makes a filling meal.

Furthermore, French onion soup is a good clear-your-plumbing remedy if you’re feeling a little backed up 🙂

When I was a younger, my mom and dad would take us to a restaurant called Sunny Banks up along the St Lawrence River outside of Cape Vincent, New York. My mom would often get the French Onion soup and so would I! It was such a treat.

As I grew up I’d order the soup from time to time at other restaurants. For some reason I have meals I cook at home and meals I order out. For example, I never cook fish unless it’s out on the grill – it stinks up the boat. And I rarely make Eggplant Parmesan because it takes ½ day to make!

French onion soup was always an order-out option.

Looking back, I made an incorrect assumption. I presumed that making the soup was difficult. My mom is an amazing cook but she never made it at home so I just followed suit!

To my delight, however, I made the soup in my solar cooker (read the 10 Benefits to of Solar Cooking here) and discovered that its probably one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made.

If you haven’t yet purchased or made a solar cooker yet, I highly recommend the Solavore Sport Solar Cooker – it’s the one that we use on Britican.

Solar Cooking Recipe – French Onion Soup

• 6 – 8 onions (I’ve used all sorts – in the video they were white onions)
• Beef broth (carton or use cubes to make around three cups)
• Sherry to taste
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Toasted bread – French baguette works well
• Sliced provolone, gruyere or even cheddar cheese
• Roasted garlic (optional)

Directions

Slice the onions and add them to the pot. Add a tablespoon or so of butter and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Put the lid on and place in the slow cooker. Leave for at least three hours but it’s fine to leave them cooking all day.

Once you’re getting ready to eat, remove the pot and add the beef broth and sherry. Give it a good stir. Put the pot back in the solar cooker. While it’s warming up again, toast some baguette slices with sliced cheese over the top.

When you’re ready to put everything together, put a cheese covered slice of bread in a bowl and then cover it with the French onion soup.

Alternative uses for the caramelized onions

• Use them as a base for a curry – caramelized onions are perfect!
• Put them on top of burgers, sandwiches
• If you have any suggestions, add them to the comments below…

Solar Cooked Roasted Garlic (optional)

Take a whole garlic bulb, and cut the narrow ended top off exposing the garlic cloves. Put in the solar cooker pot, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and cook for a couple hours.

Solar Cooking Recipe – French Onion Soup Video

Some books on Amazon about Solar Cooking

The first book listed below is the one I purchased before buying a solar cooker. It’s full of great information about how solar cooking works, how to build your own solar cooker, frequently asked questions and over 100 recipes.