French Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 6 large onions, thinly sliced
• 50 g butter
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 1.2 l beef stock
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 baguette, sliced
• 150 g gruyère, grated
• salt
• black pepper

Method

1. Start the onions

   Melt the butter in a heavy pot, add the onions, and cook over low-medium heat with a pinch of salt.

   10 min

2. Caramelise properly

   Keep going, stirring every few minutes and scraping the brown film off the base, until the onions are deep mahogany. This takes about 45 minutes and cannot be rushed — everything the soup tastes of comes from here.

   45 min

3. Flour and wine

   Stir in the flour and cook it out, then deglaze with the wine and let it reduce.

   5 min

4. Simmer

   Add the stock, thyme and bay, season with pepper, and simmer gently.

   30 min

5. Gratinée

   Ladle into ovenproof bowls, float a slice of toasted baguette on each, pile with gruyère and grill until blistered and bubbling.

   5 min