My trip along the Mediterranean continues this week with French and French-inspired recipes. Today is a new take on French onion soup: French onion chicken. I’m really eager to try this recipe because I love French onion soup. It’s one of those things I simply cannot pass up when I find it on a menu. I’ve never made it at home, so this is also a new challenge for me, and I love a challenge. So let’s get to it!
French Onion Chicken: caramelized onions under melted gooey cheese all atop braised tender chicken with a French onion style sauce. An excellent option for dinner with friends, but your family will want it for a weeknight dinner option!
The Ingredients
This recipe is all about the onions, so I bought an entire three-pound bag for it. It was only $3.99, but it was three pounds of onions for one meal! The chicken and cheese were the priciest items for this recipe at $10.55 and $5.49, respectively. Thyme was on the list of ingredients, but it didn’t specify fresh or dried. I opted for fresh since the picture showed the chicken garnished with a sprig. As far a the rest of the ingredients, I had them on hand. Well, all except for the French bread. I made sure I bought plenty–it’s a must for a French (or French-inspired) dish.
The Process
The prep time for this recipe is listed as 15 minutes, but I cut that down to just over six minutes. How? I only prepped the onions since they needed 45 minutes to caramelize. That left me plenty of time to finish the prep work while they cooked.
My mandoline came in really handy for this recipe. I set it on the thickest setting to slice the onions in just a few minutes. Then I gave it a quick rinse while the onions were cooking and switched out the plates so I could grate the cheese.
After that, making this dish went according to the instructions. One thing I wish I did differently was to set the broiler to high. I set it on low to be cautious, and the cheese didn’t brown at all. That didn’t affect the taste, but it would have looked nicer with a little browning.
