Fabulous French Onion Soup

I have been completely knocked out with a head cold for the last few days. When I finally felt up to a cooking something other than ramen noodles, I was craving something comforting and easy on the throat. However, I wasn’t able to go to the store, so I had to work with the supplies I had in my pantry. This was my vegetarian’s favorite soup.

The secret to making great tasting french onion soup is caramelizing the onions and using really great stock. I had to use store bought stock, not ideal, but necessary because I felt so awful I wasn’t about to do it from scratch. I took two boxes of stock and reduced them by half .

Ingredients
5 onions, sliced thinly
1/2 stick butter
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 T flour
12 oz red wine or 1 bottle of wheat beer
2 qts beef stock
1 baguette, 1/2 inch slices
swiss or provolone cheese slices
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Slice onions and saute them in the butter.
2. Begin with 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and the thyme while carmelizing the onions. It will take between 1 and 1 1/2 hours to carmelize them.  Begin on a medium high temperature for the first 30 minutes, stiring often.  Turn to low heat and continue to stir often until the onions turn a deep rich brown color.  (see picture below)
3. Add in the flour and cook for an additional 5 minutes to cook the raw taste out of the flour.
4. Add in the beer or wine and reduce by half at a simmer.
5. Add in the beef stock and reduce by half.  Simmer until the texture of the soup is silky.
6. Meanwhile, toast the baguette slices in the oven on broil.
7. Right before serving, add sliced cheese over the crostini and broil till the cheese is golden and bubbly.
8. To serve, ladle soup in cups or soup bowls, add two cheese crostini over them and enjoy