Caramelized Onion & Gruyère Soup

FROM SUE · PRINTABLE RECIPE

Caramelized Onion & Gruyère Soup

Four large onions cook down into a savory broth, then each bowl gets a cap of melted Gruyère. Cut the onions to a similar thickness and keep the pot at a steady low heat for a deep-golden finish.

Prep: 10 minutes · Cook: 50 minutes · Total: 60 minutes · Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 large Yellow onions, cut into thin slices
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 tbsp Unsalted butter
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 4–5 sprigs Fresh thyme
• 1 l Beef or vegetable stock
• 150 g Gruyère cheese, grated
• to taste Salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Peel the onions, trim the ends and slice them into 1/4-inch strips. Mince the garlic and set the thyme and stock beside the stove.
2. Heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook uncovered for 25–35 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until soft and deep golden. Lower the heat if the edges darken before the centers soften.
3. Stir in the garlic and thyme sprigs for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Pour in the stock and scrape the browned onion bits from the bottom of the pot.
4. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Lift out the thyme stems with tongs.
5. Taste the broth and season with salt and black pepper.
6. Ladle the soup into four sturdy soup crocks rated for oven and broiler use.
7. Divide the Gruyère over the soup. Set the crocks on a sturdy tray under a low broiler for 1–3 minutes, until the cheese melts and bubbles. Watch the crocks and lift them with oven mitts; keep fragile porcelain away from the broiler.

Kitchen notes

• For deeper caramelization, allow 15–25 extra minutes for the onions beyond the 60-minute total. Follow the deep-golden color rather than rushing the onions to meet the clock.
• Stir every few minutes and lower the heat if the edges brown before the centers soften.
• Use soup crocks rated for broiler heat. Fragile porcelain can crack under direct broiler heat.