French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 4 large yellow onions thinly sliced, about 3 lbs
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup dry sherry or dry white wine
- 8 cups beef broth
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Black pepper
- 1 baguette sliced into 1 inch rounds
- 2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the onions, sugar and salt, stirring to coat.
- Cook the onions 40 to 45 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until they are deep caramel brown and jammy, lowering the heat if they start to scorch.
- Add the garlic and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the sherry, scraping up the browned bits, and simmer 2 minutes until mostly evaporated.
- Add the beef broth, thyme, bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer uncovered 20 minutes, then discard the thyme stems and bay leaf.
- Meanwhile, toast the baguette slices on a baking sheet under the broiler 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden.
- Ladle the soup into oven-safe crocks, float 2 toasted baguette slices on top of each, and mound with the Gruyere.
- Broil 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbling and browned in spots.
Good to Know
The caramelized onion and broth base keeps well for 3 days in the fridge or 2 months frozen; just make the fresh toast and cheese topping the day you serve it.