Its taken me awhile to find a from-scratch recipe for this that I thought was really worth it. You can always find good versions of it in restaurants, but I really prefer to make soup at home. I finally combined enough recipes and tweaked enough to find a version I wanted to share! So simple and such a great cold weather meal!
What You Need:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 onions, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup red wine or cooking sherry
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 quarts beef stock
- 1 baguette, sliced
- 1/2 pound grated Gruyere {swiss would also work}
Directions:
Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized. Use a good amount of salt to season and sweat the onions. I let mine cook very low and slow, probably for a good hour. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef stock and bring the soup back to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Or, ladle soup into oven safe bowls or ramekins and float the baguette slices right in the soup, top with cheese, and place under the broiler.
Enjoy!
