French Onion Soup

You either love it or you hate it. For me, I've always had this sick love for French onion soup— the salted broth, the crunchy croutons, the crusted cheese on top— every time I see it on a restaurant menu, I just have to order it. This recipe is adapted from Julia Child's own recipe. Adding cognac to it gives the broth a rich, decadent touch so I suggest you pair it with an equally fancy cheese topping.

Ingredients (makes 6+ bowls of soup)
2-1/2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2-1/2 quarts vegetable stock
4 to 5 tablespoons Cognac (I used Brandy- I'm cheap!)
1 cup dry white vermouth

Serve with
sliced baguette
sliced Gruyere cheese
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Melt the butter in a large stock pan and melt. Next add in the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook covered over medium heat until the onions are tender and translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in the salt and sugar and raise the temperature to a medium high heat. Cook the onions, uncovered for about 30 minutes, until they are golden in color.

Add the flour and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 cups heated vegetable stock. Add the remaining stock and alcohols and simmer covered for an hour over low heat.

To prepare the bowls, pour soup into individual oven safe bowls. Add a thin slice of toasted baguette and top with cheeses. The amount of cheese used will vary on your preference, but a small handful of cheese for each bowl should be good. Broil bowls in the oven until the topping is golden and bubbling. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh herbs or Italian seasoning.

Notes

• This soup is inexpensive and wonderful to freeze for an easy weeknight meal. Just add the toppings after thawing.
• Slice the onions as thin as possible. I would recommend using a mandolin if you have one.
  
• You may choose to skimp on cooking the soup for a full hour, but do not skimp on browning the onions before adding the liquid. It will result in nasty potent oniony soup. I know from experience :)
• I used a stock photo for this article as to not ward people off from trying this lovely soup recipe. Although my soup looked similar, my photo of it turned out terrible!