This recipe is so easy that a child can manage it. Parents may want to help with chopping the onions.
Serves 4
3 yellow onions, peeled and chopped
5 slices of bread (whole grain bread makes it more nutritious)
6 cups beef broth or 5 cups with 1 cup water
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
butter
garlic powder
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Chop the onions into smallish chunks. Put about a tablespoon of butter in a deep sauce pan and turn on the heat to medium. When the butter starts to melt, add the onions and stir so everything is coated with butter. Sauté the onions on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown.
Add the beef broth to the pan and stir. Bring it to a gentle boil and then turn down the heat and simmer (low heat) for 25 minutes.
While the onions are simmering, cut the bread into half-inch cubes and spread out on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the croutons lightly with garlic powder.
Bake the bread chunks on the top rack of the oven for 10 minutes. They should be lightly brown and dried when they come out.
Grate the cheese on a cheese grater or with a mouli. (A mouli is the little hand-held device that they use in restaurants to add cheese on your pasta. It has a handle that you turn to pass the cheese over the grater. If your family doesn’t use a mouli, a standard grater is fine.)
Ladle the soup into 4 bowls and sprinkle the dried croutons on top of each bowl.
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top of each bowl. If there are croutons left over, serve them on the side so people can add more when the first set is gone.
You may want to grate a little more Parmesan cheese to serve on the side, for topping the second round of croutons. Serve immediately.
