"The" Onion Soup

Title:
"The" Onion Soup

Yield:
6 Servings

Categories:
Soups




Ingredients:





     3 tb Butter


     1 tb Olive oil


 1 1/2 lb Onions;thinly sliced, 5-6 lg


   1/2 ts Sugar


     1 ts Salt


     1 lg Clove garlic; thinly sliced


     2 tb Flour


     2 qt Beef stock; hot


     2 c  Dry red wine; good quality


     1 ds Red wine vinegar


     1 pn Thyme


          Black pepper; to taste


     1    Bay leaf


     1    French bread loaf; sliced in


          -1-inch croutes


     1 lb Gruyere cheese; diced small


          Parmesan cheese; fresh grate


          Butter; melted






 Melt the butter and olive oil together in a heavy, 4-quart soup pot. Add


 the onions, cover, and cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring


 occasionally.


 


 Raise the heat to moderate, uncover pan, and add sugar and salt. Cook 20 to


 30 minutes longer, stirring frequently, until the onions have turned a


 rich, mahogany brown.


 


 Reduce heat to low, add the garlic, and cook 1 minute. Blend in the flour


 and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the


 heat and blend in 1 cup of hot stock, making sure the flour is completely


 dissolved. Stir in the remaining stock, the wine, vinegar, thyme, and


 pepper, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer slowly, cover slightly


 ajar, for 30 minutes. Add bay leaf the last 15 minutes, discarding it at


 the end of cooking time. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.


 


 NOTE: The soup can be prepared several days in advance (in fact, it


 improves with age), but if you are planning to serve it gratinee, have your


 guests clamoring at the table as you remove it from the broiler, or the


 crust will sink like a leaky barge. Therefore:


 


 Preheat the broiler.


 


 Smear a bit of butter in the bottom of individual earthenware (or other


 heatproof) bowls, and place them on a cookie sheet. Place a croute on the


 bottom of each bowl and sprinkle generously with Gruyere. Repeat this


 procedure in each bowl. Ladle in the simmering soup. Float another croute


 on top of each serving, sprinkle on more Gruyere and a drift of Parmesan.


 Drizzle with a bit of melted butter, and whisk the bowls under the


 preheated broiler for a few minutes. Watch carefully. When the cheese is


 crusty and the soup bubbling, serve immediately.


 


 AFTERTHOUGHTS: Serve the soup with bruschetta or garlic croutons. Try


 bruschetta smeared with a little dijon mustard and topped with Brie in


 place of the Gruyere croutes. If you're feeling like a high roller, add a


 dash of Cagnac to each serving when you ladle on the soup. If you're


 concerned about your weight, serve the soup unadorned except for a


 sprinkling of fresh minced parsley. Pass thin bruschetta or lightly toasted


 French bread and a small bowl of grated Parmesan at the table.


 


 You may also wish to serve the soup from a tureen. Preheat oven to 425


 degrees F, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until brown and crusty.


 


 And do try the redoubtable Julia Child's version: a couple of egg yolks


 beaten with 4 or 5 tablespoons of port or Madeira, poured under the edge of


 the crust, and gently stirred just before serving. (Divide this amount


 among bowls if serving them individually.)


 


 Source: "Lilies of the Kitchen" by Barbara Batcheller


 Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V3 #291


 


 Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 01:39:32 +0000


 


 From: Linda Place