French Onion Soup

A couple of years ago, before I deleted my old blog, I participated in several of Randi's Recipe Box Swaps. With the revival of the blog, and a newly minted diploma from culinary school, I am joining in again. Before culinary school, henceforth known as bs, wait no, that should be bcs, I wasn't an onion lover. Oh my, how things change when you know exactly how to cook one properly! Here is possibly the best French onion soup in the whole wide world. Well, I don't know about the whole world, but it's darn good and made an onion lover out of me!

yellow onion, thinly sliced 3-1/4 pounds

garlic 1 clove

olive oil 1/2 ounce

red wine 1-1/2 ounce

brown stock* 1-1/4 quart

chicken stock 1 quart

fresh thyme 2 tsp

salt & pepper to taste

toasted French bread slices for garnish

Gruyere, grated for garnish

-Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil over low heat. Carefully caramelize them without burning. LOW HEAT is very important or the onion will be bitter rather than sweet. Don't get impatient!

-Deglaze the pan with red wine, cook au sec (fancy French word meaning until dry)/ The onions will be a very dark, even brown.

-Add the stocks and cook 20 minutes to develop the flavour. Adjust the seasonings, you will need more salt than you think.

-Serve in warm bowls. Top each portion with a slice of toasted French bred and a thick layer of cheese. Place under pre-heated broiler until the cheese melts and is beginning to brown.

*brown stock is just chicken stock made with bones you have roasted in the oven for about an hour. It gives a richer and more complex flavour as well as darker colour to your stock. You might know this already, but I didn't until I went to culinary school :-)