Ingredients

  • 5-6 medium onions, sliced
  • 6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick)
  • 2 Turkish bay leaves
  • 3 sprigs of thyme
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon cognac
  • 2/3 cup dry white wine
  • 6 cups stock (beef is traditionally recommended for rich flavor, or mushroom for a vegetarian version, but more often than not I make this with chicken stock and it’s fantastic)
  • Montreal steak seasoning
  • salt and pepper
  • a baguette, sliced thin (Dick likes this Filoncino recipe) *
  • gruyere, sliced thin *
  • parmesan, grated *

* amount depends on how many bowls you’re serving.

Directions

  1. Sauté onions, butter, bay leaves, thyme, and some Montreal steak seasoning in a pot for 45-60 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic around the 40 minute point.
  2. Add flour, stir, and cook for about a minute.
  3. Add cognac, stir, and cook for about a minute.
  4. Add wine, stir, and cook for a few minutes. Be sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
  5. Add beef stock and simmer for a half hour.
  6. While soup is simmering, heat the oven to 350.
  7. On a baking sheet, crisp the baguette slices until toasted, about 10 minutes, flipping half way through.
  8. Turn on the broiler.
  9. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs from soup. Bowl up the soup. Lay baguette slices over the top of the soup, then lay gruyere slices on top of the bread, then grate some Parmesan over the gruyere.
  10. Broil for 3-5 minute until cheese is bubbly and brown.

Recipe inspiration from Epicurious.

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