Categories: Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 7 tbsp. butter
- 10 cups thinly sliced onions
- 5 thyme sprigs, tied into a bundle with kitchen twine
- 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups dry red wine
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
- Kosher salt
- 4 large croissants, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 3/4 lb. Gruyere, grated
Directions
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In a really big heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil and 7 tbsp. of the butter over high heat. Add the onions and the thyme bundle and cook, stirring often, until the onions begin to shrink but are still light in color, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden and meltingly tender, another 20 minutes, but really watch the color more than the clock.
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Add the flour and cook, stirring, until it coats all the onions and makes them look kinda dull, about 3 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium, bring to a boil, and cook until the onions are purple and the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Discard the thyme bundle. Add the broth, soy sauce, and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat again, and cook at a gentle simmer until the soup has thickened and the onions are no longer purple, about 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
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Preheat the oven to 350. Arrange the croissant pieces on a large baking sheet and bake until golden, about 9 minutes. Remove from the oven and raise the heat to broil.
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Arrange six 10- or 12-oz. ovenproof soup crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Mound 1/4 cup of the Gruyere on the bottom of each crock. Ladle soup over the cheese, almost to the top. Top each soup with a few croissant croutons, then mound 1/4 cup more Gruyere on top, mostly covering the croutons. Broil until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned and the croutons are nice and toasty on the edges, 3 to 4 minutes.