Another recipe I had on my Irish themed dinner was Irish Onion Soup, made with Guinness. I absolutely love French onion soup so I was pretty excited to try this. I was also excited to have a second recipe to use the Guinness Beer that was now in my fridge. There isn’t a lot of difference between French onion soup and Irish onion soup other then the alcohol that is used so it’s super easy.

 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 5 cloves minced garlic
  • 8 cups thinly sliced onions
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cups Guinness draught
  • 6 cups beef stock
  • 6 slices country bread cut 1/2-inch thick, toasted
  • 1/2 pound Irish Cheddar, sliced thin or grated

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and cook briefly to release aroma. Add onions, season with salt, lower the heat to med-low to low and cook for about 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions are golden brown.

Add the thyme, vinegar, and beer. Reduce beer by half and add the beef stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Transfer soup to an ovenproof serving dish or individual ovenproof soup bowls. Top with toasted bread slices and sliced Cheddar. Broil until cheese melts and starts to brown slightly. Serve piping hot.

I didn’t have Irish Cheddar so I used white cheddar instead and it tasted just fine. The soup initial tasted really sweet but there was definitely a slight bitter aftertaste. This was definitely heavier than regular French onion soup and filled us up but I think I prefer the original French version.