French Onion Soup

Apart from cheese, there's nothing for a doggie to steal while the hooman cooks this. Onions are very bad for canine creatures. Meanwhile, the hooman can sip his supposed cooking wine and brandy to his heart's content. Boo!

French Onion Soup

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

80 mins

Servings

4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 6 large brown onions
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Sea salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2L beef stock, chicken stock, or a combination of the two
• (The hooman uses Maggie Beer because he says it's the best)
• 125ml dry white wine or dry vermouth
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons red vermouth or brandy
• 8 slices (2½ cm thick) French bread or baguette
• 1½ cups grated Gruyere cheese
• Sprinkling grated Parmesan cheese

Method

Peel and thinly slice the onions from root to stem. There should be about 10 cups of sliced onions in total.

Begin caramelising the onions with olive oil and butter:
In a 5/7L thick-bottomed pot (the hooman uses a Le Creuset), heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and toss to coat with the olive oil.
Cook the onions, stirring often, until they have softened, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium high. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter and cook, stirring often, until the onions start to brown, about 20 to 40 minutes. The amount of time will vary depending on your pot, stove, and onions.

Sprinkle with sugar (to help with the caramelisation) and 1 teaspoon of salt. Continue to cook until the onions are well browned, about 10 to 15 more minutes.
Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute more.

Add the wine or vermouth to the pot and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom and sides of the pot, deglazing the pot as you go.

Add the stock, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot and lower the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes.

Season to taste with more salt and add freshly ground black pepper. Discard the bay leaves. Add red vermouth or brandy.

While the soup is simmering, line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil and preheat the oven to 230C with a rack in the upper third of the oven.
Brush both sides of the French bread or baguette slices lightly with olive oil (you'll end up using about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil for this).
Put in the oven and toast until lightly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven.

Turn the toasts over and sprinkle with the grated Gruyere cheese and Parmesan. Return to oven when it's close to serving time and bake until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

To serve, ladle soup into a bowl and transfer one cheesy toast onto the top of each bowl of soup.