French Onion Soup

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
3 Maui sweet onions or 2 regular yellow onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T butter
½ cup dry white wine
1 14-oz. can of beef broth or 2 cups homemade beef or veal broth
1 cup water
2 T flour
1 t dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2-3 oz. Gruyere cheese
slices of French baguette

Warm olive oil and butter in a saucepan or pot. Add onions and garlic and saute for about two minutes to soften the onions (they should look translucent). Sprinkle flour over the onions and cook for a minute to get rid of the flour taste, then add white wine and cook for another minute to burn off some of the alcohol. Add broth, water, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Then reduce to simmer for about 30 to 35 minutes under the onions are tender.

Cut your baguette into bite-size pieces to create croutons. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil then place under broiler for a minute to get a golden brown color.

When your soup is done, remove the bay leaf and then laddle the soup into oven-proof soup bowls. Float pieces of your croutons on top to cover the top layer and then grate the cheese over the croutons and bowl. Place under broiler until the cheese melts. (If not using broiler, place in oven at 400 degrees until cheese melts, about 2 to 5 minutes.)

Makes 2 to 3 servings. Makes a nice starter for a beef dinner.

TIP: I suggest cutting your baguette into smaller pieces because it makes it easier to eat. Some people like to slice the baguette and place one big piece of toast on top of the soup bowl. It looks more dramatic, but I think it’s not very considerate to your guest who has to deal with that big piece of toast on top. Also, I like to place at least one piece on top of the initial layer, sitting almost in its own layer, so that you’ll get at least one cheese crouton that’s crunchy and dry and not soaking in the soup.

SERVE IT UP: You can make the soup ahead of time and just warm it up before placing in the bowl and adding the croutons and cheese. You can even make it ahead of time and have a bowl a night for the next three nights as a quick starter to dinner or snack. But I think it helps to warm the soup up on the stovetop instead of just pouring cold soup in the bowls and hoping the broiling or oven will warm it up. It won’t thoroughly warm up before your croutons and cheese burn. So take that extra step to warm up the soup before serving.