French Onion Soup

A few days before we moved from Chicago we went to a restaurant that was literally across the street from our condo.  At the very end of our meal, Joel decided to order French Onion Soup.  Although our bellies were full, we stuffed ourselves silly that day with French Onion Soup--it was seriously the best soup we had ever tasted.  We couldn't believe we had lived next door to this soup for the last 2 years and had not eaten any.

I recently found a very similar recipe on Food Network. We've tried a lot of French Onion Soup Recipes in our day and this is by far our favorite! 

Classic Onion Soup with Gruyere

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large yellow or Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup port wine (or any red wine)
• 6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
• 1 (2-inch) piece Parmesean rind
• Reserved bread from bread bowls or 4 slices sourdough baguette, about 1-inch thick and lightly toasted
• 8 slices Gruyere cheese (we use Provolone)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and preheat broiler.

Melt butter and oil together over medium-high heat. Add onions and sugar and cook 10 minutes, until onions are tender and golden brown. Add thyme, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper. Cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add wine and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Add broth and Parmesan rind and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove bay leaves and Parmesan rind.  Ladle soup into oven safe bowls, top with bread and cheese. Broil 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Adapted from Food Network.