Splendid French Onion Soup
By: Emily Heston
Published: Sunday, December 6, 2009 - 1:42am

Ingredients




5 tablespoons butter
8 cups coarsely sliced onions
2 tablespoons flour
12 cups beef broth 3 tablespoons Cognac
2 bay leaves
1 baguette
10 ounces chunk of Gruyere cheese

Preparation

1 In a large saucepan, melt the butter, then add the sliced onions. Allow the onions to caramelize at a leisurely pace in their butter bath (about 45 minutes), stirring and tossing them about every 5 minutes until soft and golden to deep brown. Sprinkle the flour onto the onions when they need to cook for about 10 more minutes and make sure the flour absorbs butter and browns along with the onions. Add a little more butter if necessary during the cooking process. 2 Add the broth, Cognac, and bay leaves and allow the soup to simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. 3 Remove bay leaves. At this stage the soup can be refrigerated for 3-5 days until ready to use. 4 When it's splendid soup time: 5 Heat the soup in a pan on the stove until just bubbling. While the soup is heating slice the baguette and cheese, top each slice of bread with a few slices of cheese. 6 Check the racks in the stove and adjust them to accommodate a tray of soup bowls, the top of the bowls should be about 6-8 inches from broiler, turn the oven on to broil. 7 Ladle the soup into the bowls and cover the top of the soup with the bread and cheese slices. 8 Put the soup bowls on a baking tray and slide it into the oven. In 10-15 minutes the cheese should be bubbly, golden and beginning to brown in some spots. Be sure to check the soups often to prevent burning. 9 From the oven, bubbly hot vessels will emerge with a delicious, comforting combination of flavors and textures! 10 Don't mind the marks of the broth that bubbled over the lip, it's a part of the rustic charm of this soup.

About


The soup base can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. For an easy salad to offer with the soup try baby arugula leaves or mache, lightly drizzled with walnut oil and sprinkled with a coarse sea salt.