Menu 31: French Onion-Potato Soup

Today was a cool, gray day that reminded us that fall is just around the corner—hooray! Andy and I decided soup sounded good for dinner. My challenge was to make something that would meet our craving while using on-hand ingredients. I'll bore you with my train of thought for developing this recipe: At first I thought about making potato soup but after finding a carton of beef broth in the pantry decided French onion soup was in order. Then it occurred to me that potatoes might be really tasty with the onions, so French onion-potato soup was born! We ate our soup with grilled cheese sandwiches—so satisfying! Enjoy!

French Onion-Potato Soup
2 tsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup red wine (If you don't like wine, substitute an equal amount of beef broth.)

1 (32-oz.) carton beef broth

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into cubes (no need to peel them)

1. Melt butter in hot oil in a Dutch oven. Sauté onion in hot oil mixture 10 minutes or until onion is soft. Add in garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in flour, and cook 1 minute. Add in red wine, and cook until liquid is absorbed. Stir in beef broth and potatoes, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until mixture is thickened and potatoes are cooked. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.