French Onion Soup

This is a recipe I've meaning to get around to for a long time now. I'm a caramelized onion fanatic and so obviously I'd adore a soup completely devoted to them. There are a lot of variations of French Onion Soup out there, but they all have one element in common: soft, slippery, sweet, slow-cooked caramelized onions. I went with a fairly classic recipe published by Gourmet. The flavor base is constructed with beef and chicken broth (and white wine if you choose) and seasoned with bay and fresh thyme. And in keeping with tradition, the soup is topped with a thick-cut croute and bubbling Gruyere and Parmesan- "gorgeously cheesy" as Gourmet described it.

French Onion Soup

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup (1/2 sick) unsalted butter
2 lbs. yellow onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced lengthwise
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. all-purpose flour
4 cups homemade or low-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 cups homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup dry white wine (OR another 1/2 cup chicken broth + 1 Tbsp. white balsamic or sherry vinegar)
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
whole wheat baguette, thickly sliced on the diagonal
8 oz. Gruyere, sliced
1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated

DIRECTIONS
1. Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook onions until soft and deep golden brown (reducing the heat if necessary to prevent burning), about 1 hour.

2. Add the flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in the wine (or vinegar and 1/2 cup chicken broth) and cook for 2 minutes. Add the beef broth and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F. Arrange sliced baguette in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, turning once, until croutes are completely dry.

4. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs from soup. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Divide soup among four crocks. Float a croute in each. Top with sliced Gruyere and sprinkle with Parmigiano.

5. Broil crocks for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve immediately.

NOTE: Alternately, cheese can be broiled on the croutes on a baking sheet and then placed on top of the soup just before serving. They tend to turn out less soggy this way.

Serves 4.

(Adapted from Gourmet)