HOMEMADE FRENCH ONION SOUP RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• 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, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. 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 broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. 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.
• Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.
• Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

Steps:

• Coat a large deep pot with olive oil. Add the onions and sprinkle generously with salt. Bring the pan to a medium heat. Stir the onions to coat with oil. Cover the pot and sweat for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Once the onions have gotten very soft and let off a lot of water, remove the lid and let the onions cook looooow and sloooooooooow. That's right low and slow to really develop their rich brown color and sweet flavor. There is no shortcut or rush for this, DO NOT TRY! Caramelized onions take a long time, about an hour, accept it and move on.
• When the onions are very brown and have gotten considerably smaller, add the sherry and cook until the sherry has reduced by half. Add the bay leaves, thyme bundle and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. TASTE for seasoning, you probably will need to season with salt. If the stock reduces too much add water to keep the liquid level up- this IS a soup after all. When done, the soup should be thick and very full flavored. TASTE! You may need to resason, caramelized onions are very sweet and require a fair amount of salt.
• Toast or grill the baguette slices. Fill ovenproof crocks 3/4 of the way with the onion soup, float 2 toasts in each bowl and top with grated Gruyere. Place the crocks under the broiler to melt the cheese and make it brown and bubbly. Top with chopped chives.
• Voila!!