Soupe a l'Oignon Gratinee (French Onion Soup)

Deeply caramelized onions simmered in good beef stock, ladled over a crouton and capped with a bubbling lid of melted Gruyere.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp butter
• 6 large onions, thinly sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 quarts good dark beef stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 thick slices of baguette or country bread, toasted
• 1/2 lb (225 g) Gruyere cheese, grated
• 2 tbsp brandy or cognac (optional)

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, add the onions and a pinch of salt, and cook slowly, stirring often, until they collapse and turn a deep, even golden brown, about 40 to 50 minutes. Do not rush this; the color is the whole point.
2. Add the white wine and scrape up every bit of brown stuck to the bottom of the pot.
3. Pour in the beef stock, add the bay leaf, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in the brandy if using, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls set on a sheet pan, float a toasted bread slice on each, and pile the grated Gruyere generously on top so it overhangs the rim.
5. Broil until the cheese is melted, bubbling and browned at the edges. Serve immediately, warning everyone the bowls are dangerously hot.

Notes

Adapted from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook; Bourdain insisted the soup lives or dies on the quality of your stock.