French Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg onions, thinly sliced
• 60 g butter
• 1.5 l beef stock
• 200 ml dry white wine
• 8 pieces baguette slices
• 200 g Gruyere, grated
• 4 pieces thyme sprigs
• 1 pieces bay leaf
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 2 tbsp brandy

Steps

1. 1
   Melt the butter in a wide heavy pot and add all the onions with a good pinch of salt.
2. 2
   Cook over medium-low heat for 50-60 minutes, stirring every few minutes. They must go past golden to a deep mahogany — this is the entire flavour of the soup and there is no way to hurry it.
3. 3
   Scrape up the brown film on the base as it forms; that is where the sweetness lives.
4. 4
   Sprinkle over the flour and cook 2 minutes, then deglaze with the wine and brandy and reduce by half.
5. 5
   Add the stock, thyme and bay and simmer 30 minutes. Season.
6. 6
   Toast the baguette slices until dry and hard.
7. 7
   Ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls, float the toast on top and heap over the Gruyere.
8. 8
   Grill until the cheese is bubbling and browned at the edges. Serve at once, with a warning about the bowl.