French Dip sandwiches and French Onion Soup are two of my wife’s favorite choices when eating at a restaurant. Something about soup served with a chunk of bread and melty, slightly burnt cheese – it’s kind of a diner classic.
It is salty and satisfying comfort food. My wife judges French Onion soup harshly. It can’t be too sweet or too salty. The cheese has to be “just so.” The recipe below was a winning combination for her, so I’m sure you’ll love it too.
Caramelizing onions for French Dip sandwiches
I love caramelized onions. I caramelized them in a big batch yesterday because I would use them more than once this week. I had them for burgers yesterday, soup and sandwiches today, and I’ll be using some with pizza tomorrow.
Yesterday I sliced 6 pounds of onions without shedding a tear! I cooked them in a big pot with cooking spray and salt basically forever (45 minutes) until they were a rich brown color and stored them in an airtight container.
If you do this part ahead of time, then the rest of the meal comes together really quickly. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind having a giant crock of caramelized onions to use throughout the week (ahem… on Patty Melts, for example).
If onions make you cry, buy some onion goggles from Amazon. I got my wife a pair for Christmas a few years ago. They’re a real thing. Who knew?
Use your favorite deli roast beef to save time
These sandwiches are so good, and when I saw that Wegman’s roast beef deli meat was 1 so for 3 oz, it was only a matter of time that I made them.
I’ve been staying away from red meat since weight watchers unless it was a special occasion. 3oz of roast beef is only 1sp… That’s what the special occasion was tonight.
All of my favorite comfort foods seem to be sloppy, melty, and cheesy. This meal is no different, although it feels a little classier since it says french in both of the names.
Find a good crusty roll you can really enjoy. Sure, things like Sara Lee bread can be low in points, but nothing beats a crusty roll.
I got these from Giant, and they were long and thin. The whole baguette was only 8 ounces, so 4 sandwiches out the long baguette did just fine.
This sandwich and soup combo is only 10sp! TEN! My house smells amazing, I’m stuffed, and this satisfied my need of real beef and real bread.
French Dip Sandwiches and French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Wegmans Tomato Paste
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2-4 Tbsp kosher salt
- 4 cups Caramelized onions
- 2 Tbsp rosemary
- 3 splashes Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Culinary Stock Beef Flavored
- 4 cups Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Broth Organic, Free Range Chicken
- 20 oz French baguette bread – 8 2 oz. Rolls for sandwiches and the rest thinly sliced for the soup
- 4 slices Wegmans Food You Feel Good About Ultra thin sliced Swiss cheese cut in half
- 16 slices Wegmans Ultra thin sliced provolone cheese (8 for the soup, 8 sliced in half for the sandwiches)
- 1.5 pounds Wegmans roast beef
Instructions
- Chop and caramelize your onions. About 4lb of onions chopped will net you about 4 cups of caramelized onions. To caramelize: Use a nonstick pan, add a bit of kosher salt, and some liquid (such as beef broth or chicken broth). This step takes about 45 minutes of stirring, but the result is SO worth it.
- To the caramelized onions, add minced garlic, and thyme.
- Cook for about a minute then add the tomato paste.
- Cook for a few minutes until tomato paste is well incorporated, then add most of the broth. Reserve 1 cup.
- Make a slurry out of the flour and remaining broth in a bowl or mason jar. Basically, you just add them both to a jar or bowl and shake them around. Then add to the stockpot. Make sure the slurry is well mixed so there are no lumps.
- Bring mixture to a boil, reduce to simmer, and add the rosemary. I usually just throw a sprig in. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Taste and add salt as needed. I like my French onion soup salty, so I add about 4 tablespoons.
- While this simmers, slice up the bread and toast it in the oven. If you’re making the sandwiches too, slice them up and toast them. I spray my slices and rolls with a little bit of evoo spray and sprinkle of kosher salt. Toast for. Few minutes until just slightly golden.
- Add the roast beef to the pot, but only right before you are ready to assemble the sandwiches. It only needs to be dunked and slightly warmed in the sauce. It can sit on low though, up to you.
- When you are ready to assemble everything, remove the beef for the sandwiches. With Wegmans brand roast beef (from the deli) 3oz is 1sp! Also remove the rosemary sprig and bay leaves.
- I add the beef to the rolls, put a little bit of onions and broth on them, and then 1 slice of provolone.
- I ladle the “soup,” which is basically what’s left in the pot without the meat, into oven-safe bowls, add .5oz of bread on top, and top with .5 slice of Swiss + 1 slice of provolone. I also usually leave a little extra soup on the side to dip sandwiches in it.
- Broil these bad boys until golden and serve immediately. Eat these immediately. They are far too delicious to not eat right now. Go!
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