French Onion Soup

This was my father’s recipe for French Onion Soup. I made it last weekend! 8 Cups of Onions!

French Onion Soup
2 1/2 pounds large yellow onions halved and sliced about 1/4-inch thick about 8 cups
* 1/2 stick unsalted butter
* 5 sprigs fresh thyme
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
* 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 cup dry white wine
* 6 cups low sodium beef broth
* 2 tablespoons Brandy or Cognac
* 12 ounces Gruyère cheese
* Your favorite Sour Dough Bread.

• Melt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add about 8 cups of sliced onions, fresh thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir well. Cover and cook undisturbed for 5 – 6 minutes. Uncover stir and cover again and cook for 5 more minutes
• Uncover and stir occasionally at first but then more frequently once onions start to brown until they are a nice caramel color about 30 minutes more. Reduce heat as needed. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot so any nicely browned bits get mixed back into the onions and they don’t burn.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon all purpose flour over the onions, stir well, and cook for another minute to lightly toast the flour. Increase the heat to medium high. Add 1 cup dry white wine and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot until thickened and reduced by about half for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove thyme stems.
• Add 6 cups low-sodium beef broth, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook and stir occasionally, until the soup is thick and brown in color, 25 to 30 minutes. The onions should be suspended in the broth and not sinking to the bottom. Add 2 tablespoons of the Brandy or Cognac in the last 5 minutes if you have it.
• Put on oven rack 5 to 6 inches from the broiler. Place 6 onion soup crocks on a cookie sheet. Grate 8 ounces of the Gruyère cheese.
• When soup is ready, discard the bay leaves. Divide the soup between the crocks until 3/4 full. Sprinkle 1 heaping tablespoon of the cheese into each bowl.
• Broil, turning cookie sheet for even broiling as needed, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. I don’t add more salt because the cheese is salty. Enjoy.