French Onion Soup

October 20th, 2008

It’s cold and rainy at my house today – the perfect day to try a warm soup. I’m reprinting the recipe for French Onion Soup that you’ll find in my new book, Bon Appetit. You can make this recipe vegan if you like by using vegetable stock, olive oil and soy cheese. Any way you do it, it’s delicious.

Ingredients:
3 pounds onions, peeled and then thinly sliced
Bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
¾ tsp salt
½ stick butter, cut into two pieces
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup dry white wine
6 cups Beef Stock
½ of a day-old baguette
1 additional tablespoon of butter
onion salt or onion powder
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Directions:
Cook onions, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and half the butter in a large, heavy pot over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring frequently until onions are very soft and a deep golden brown, about 45 minutes. It’s okay if the bottom of the pan browns, as long as it doesn’t burn. This brown “stuff” on the bottom of the pan is the fond, and having lots of it will make your soup taste richer. If it seems as though it might burn, turn down the heat.

Once the onions are browned and you have lots of fond, add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add wine and cook 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Add stock and simmer, uncovered but stirring occasionally, for 35 more minutes.

While soup simmers, put oven rack in the middle position and preheat to 350 degrees.

Cut the baguette into large cubes and toss with the remaining butter and onion salt to taste. Arrange bread in a single layer on a large baking sheet and toast, turning once, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. They’ll be like large, slightly soft croutons. Remove from the oven.

Preheat broiler. Put 4 oven proof soup crocks on a cookie sheet.

Discard the bay leaves from the soup, and divide soup among the crocks. Top each crock with croutons. Sprinkle Gruyere to cover the tops of the crocks. Broil 4-5 inches from heat till cheese is melted and bubbly, which should be about 1-2 minutes.

Enjoy!