French Onion Soup

Ooh la la....french onion soup!  It's one of our family's repertoire dishes during this time of the year.  Yep, it's that time to take those hidden ramekins out because this soup can't be done without those.  They are individually divided into those tiny ramekins, topped with toasted bread and cheese and put under the broiler for few minutes to perfect its beauty.  I've decided to incorporate two different cheeses on this recipe for the topping (thanks to Auntie Jane's wonderful suggestion).  It really added a whole new dynamic to the soup.  The long cooking time is very important here, also.  It gives the ingredients time to express themselves into the soup and I'm telling ya', the end result is ah-mazing!


Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 Vidalia onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 cups beef broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
ciabatta or baguette bread, cubed and toasted (about 4 slices)
2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
4 ounces fontina cheese, sliced
4 ounces gruyere cheese, sliced
Special equipment: 4 (1 1/2 cup) ovenproof ramekins


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Slice bread into cubes, spread on cookie sheet, sprinkled with parmesan cheese.  Toast bread in the oven for 10 minutes or until brown.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions, salt and pepper.  Reduce the temperature to low heat.  Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender, about 1 hour or longer.  Slow cooking is the key to this recipe.  When onions are tender, add white wine to deglaze the pan, then add thyme and broth.  Simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.

Divide the soup between the 4 ramekins.  Divided the cubed bread among the ramekins.  Top each with slices of cheeses.  Place under the broiler, until the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 4 minutes.  Serve immediately!


Yield:  4 servings