French Onion and Ale Soup

October was a whirlwind of a month, I really needed a clone to be able to experience everything. Between work, auditions, creating a 3 minute film for the Sparrow film fest, and (my favorite) Halloween, I barely had time to breathe. Yes I did make the time to check out a few places you will be hearing about soon but where’s a Wench to find the time to write about them when her apartment is a wreck and she has three costume parties to attend—in three different costumes no less? I have neglected you, my awesome readers, and I feel horrible about it. Allow me to apologize for my absence with a delicious invitation to help you create a fabulous fall home-cooked meal—featuring beer!

I finally got a night off last week and, while pondering dinner options, decided I was craving something hearty, warming, and sinfully rich. Perhaps something I had never tried to make before, I thought, dreaming of melty cheese and savoury flavors. Then it hit me—French Onion soup! What would happen if I put beer in it? I love beer and cheese, beer and beer, and beer in onions so why the hell not? I hit up the vegetable stand on 30th Ave and acquired a blend of onions—I got two Spanish, two Vidallia, and two White Onions. Next up: a whole wheat baguette from the Astoria Bakers. Nipped across the street into Key Food and grabbed some mushroom stock (I’m vegetarian but if you aren’t by all means use beef stock), some Provolone cheese, and two St Peter’s Organic Ales—one was a traditional English Ale, a little on the lighter side, and the other was a rich Porter. I hesitated for a minute in front of the beer selection, tempted by the Siason Dupont, curious as to what effect the spicey yeastiness would have on my soup.

The ales I chose come from an organic brewery in the UK. St Peter’s Brewery uses water from their own 300 foot deep “borehole” and organic hops and barley from Norfolk. The English Ale has a slight citrus hop aftertaste and is extremely palatable, very light and crisp. Their “Old Style Porter” is a blend of mature ale and younger, lighter ale which results in an awesome deep and full bodied flavor. Both beers have won awards in the UK and are available at Key Foods, they come in kitchey old-timey apothecary bottles. If you are cooking with beer buy a room temp bottle, no need to use a chilled brew in a stew!

First step in making the Beer Wench’s French Onion and Ale Soup, you must slice the onions very thinly. I recommend a mandolin for this, I got through all six onions in a matter of minutes using mine, however, don’t use this kitchen tool without using the hand guard it came with—I speak from experience here, kids, the tip of my right thumb hasn’t had feeling for two months due to an incident involving a carrot and my own stupidity. Get a large soup pot and add some butter, don’t be shy, I used half a stick. Melt it down over medium high heat and add your onions—you want to cook them until they are soft and starting to brown. Crush two cloves of garlic and add them on in the pot along with sea salt, fresh pepper, a dash of mustard powder, a few shakes of thyme, and a pinch of cumin. I also added some leftover leeks from our CSA—hey an onion is an onion, why not use everything you’ve got?


As soon as your onions are soft and golden add one quart of stock (Mushroom, Vegetable, Beef, whatever) and 12oz of Ale. I used the English Ale from St. Peter’s Organic Brewery but the Porter would have also been delicious—pick an ale with warm undertones, nothing too hoppy. I am a cook in the style of Julia Child “Some for the turkey and some for meeeee” so I picked a 16oz bottle and “sampled” while I stirred. To the stock add one bay leaf and, if you are so inclined, a piece of Kombu Seaweed (you can’t taste it but it adds a ton of nutritional value to any soup). Bring everything to a boil before reducing the heat and allowing the soup to simmer for roughly twenty minutes, have a beer while you wait, give it a taste and add seasoning if it needs it. Don’t be afraid to make this soup your own, add any seasoning you like. Have more beer.

Slice your baguette (you can use any bread you have so long as it is crusty, day old works best) and toast it for a few minutes, until it is crispy and warm. Rub each piece of bread with a slice of raw garlic—smells amazing! This next part is up to you, you can either melt the cheese on the bread in your toaster OR you can place the soup in oven-proof bowls or a casserole dish, cover with bread and cheese and broil until the cheese is melty and bubbly—yummmmm! I used Provolone cheese but Fontina or Gruyere would also be delectable.

Now comes the best part—eating your yummy soup! I served mine with the English Porter and a side of balsamic glazed brussel sprouts, you could jazz it up with a salad of Arugula , fresh lemon, and shaved parmesan if you are so inclined. Next time you feel like hibernating and treating yourself and your friends to a ridiculously easy and tasty meal give this a try—they will think it was way harder to make than it was and you will look like Martha Stewart and Julia Child rolled into one. Joe said it was the best French Onion soup he’d ever had (yeah he may be biased but he’s not a liar, he hated the brussel sprouts).




Beer Wench’s Ale and Onion Soup Shopping List

6 assorted onions
2 cloves Garlic (fresh, people, none of that jarred shit)
1 Quart Stock
12oz Ale for soup
Mustard Powder
Thyme
Bay leaf
Crusty Bread
Cheese
Beer for drinking!