French Onion Grilled Cheese
In the same way that I have nostalgia for childhood foods, so too, does my husband sometimes request things he ate as a kid. But whereas I sometimes feel like having PopTarts or Lucky Charms or Spaghetti O’s with little meatballs, my husband wants some elaborate French meal. I am happy to oblige, even if I know it isn’t going to be as good as he remembers.
One thing I can manage to make relatively well is French onion soup. It is pretty simple and with the addition of a hunk of bread and some melted cheese, it makes a hearty meal. So when I woke up yesterday and saw a guy on the local news making French onion grilled cheese, I knew I had to give it a try. While our chef did not provide a recipe (it may have been online), it wasn’t difficult to figure out.
Today I gave it a try and it was so easy! Cook some onions until they are gooey (the technical term is “jammy” but whatevs). Butter bread and fry it until golden. Add a thick layer of grated Parmesan to one of the slices (I bought the shredded kind). Top with onions, more cheese, the other slice of fried bread and cook until the cheese is melted. I can’t emphasize enough how easy this is and I don’t think I need to tell you how delicious melted Parmesan, onions, and buttery golden bread are. We had it as a yummy Sunday lunch, but with a side salad or tomato soup, it could easily be a complete dinner.
Bon appetit!
French Onion Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 medium yellow onions
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded See notes
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 slices thick bread See notes
- 1/2 cup butter 1 stick
Instructions
- Slice the onions and half each of the slices. You can half them in a stack.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.
- Add the onions to the hot olive oil.
- Cook the onions, stirring frequently, until translucent.
- Once translucent (meaning you can sort of see through them), lower the heat to medium and cook until the onions are gooey. Stir them occasionally while they cook. If they get too brown, lower the heat more. This may take about 20 minutes.
- While your onions are cooking, butter four slices of bread on one side.
- When the onions are ready, add one tablespoon of butter to a frying pan at medium high heat. If you need to/want to, you can put the onions into a bowl and use the same frying pan.
- When the butter is melted, add two slices of bread, butter side down.
- Lift up a corner of the bread regularly to check on doneness.
- When the bread reaches a golden color, top one slice with about 1/4 cup of the shredded Parmesan.
- Add a thick layer of the cooked onions.
- Add another layer of 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan.
- Top with the other slice of bread, pressing down. The unbuttered side goes against the cheese.
- Cook the grilled cheese, flipping twice, until the cheese is melted.
- Remove and repeat with the other two slices of bread, adding more butter to the pan if necessary.
