French Onion Soup Gratinée 

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

90g unsalted butter

approx. 2 tablespoon odysea olive oil for cooking onions and 2 glugs for toasting your bread

1 kg yellow or mixed onions, sliced the lengthways

achill sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

100 ml dry sherry 

1.8 L beef stock or chicken stock

2 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

12 bowl-size slices baguette so they just fit inside the rim

350g Gruyère Cheese, Comté, or Cheddar, grated

freshly minced chives or parsley for garnish

Method

In a large heavy bottom pot or skillet add butter and olive oil over medium-high heat until foaming. Add sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until just showing brown spots here and there, about 5 minutes.

Lower heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until all onions are sweet, caramelized and fully cooked, approx. 40 min. Keep heat low and look out for burning, adjust heat as necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

While onions are cooking, butter/olive oil your bread and toast until golden brown.

Once onions are nice and caramelized, add sherry and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until alcohol smell is mostly gone, about 3 minutes.

Add beef stock, thyme, and bay leaf; raise heat to medium-high; and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

While your soup simmers, add pieces of toasted bread (reserve half of your slices for the tops of your bowls) and grated cheese into the bottoms of your serving bowls.

Once soup is finished simmering, ladle soup very high into your ovenproof serving bowls set on top of a baking tray.

Add your remaining toasted bread so that the sides are nearly fully submerged and top with grated cheese

Move tray into the oven to melt and lightly brown the cheese on top. Garnish with chive or parsley to serve.