FRENCH ONION SOUP

SERVES 4 AS A MAIN DISH, 6 AS A FIRST COURSE

I love French Onion Soup. It is often served as a first course, but I prefer it as a main dish. I strongly recommend you make homemade beef broth or stock for this recipe. It takes some time, but can be prepared ahead and refrigerated for several days or frozen. Although I often use store-bought broth in other preparations, the homemade flavor shines through in this soup.

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 large sweet onions, thinly sliced (about 8 cups)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 6 cups beef broth, preferably homemade (see recipe links on the full page view)
• 1/2 cup tawny port
• 1-1/2 cups dry sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 French baguette, sliced about 3/4-inch thick and toasted
• 1/2 pound Swiss cheese, coarsely grated (see notes below)

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the sugar, salt and pepper. Continue to saué until the onions are well browned, about 30 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is well-blended, about 3 minutes. Add the 1/4 teaspoon thyme.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a simmer in a large pot. Add the tawny port to the hot onions and stir until well blended, adding some of the hot broth if it thickens too much. Add the onions, sherry and thyme to the broth. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

To serve, place 1 or 2 slices of toast in individual soup bowls, cutting as needed to fit in one layer. Top with a good amount of cheese. Ladle soup over each. The bread and cheese will rise to the top and the cheese will be slightly melted. Alternately, if you have ovenproof soup bowls, ladle some soup into each bowl, top with bread, then cheese. Place under broiler until the cheese is melted and a crust forms. Serve immediately.

Note: Just like the broth, this soup begs for a good quality Swiss cheese. The traditional choice is Gruyere. Emmentaler is also very popular. However, my favorite is Jarlsberg, a Norwegian Swiss-style cheese, because it has a deliciously rich and nutty flavor.

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