This soup is more like a thick onion stew than a soup. It includes a bit of brandy and is a tribute to the time when the Les Halles district of Paris was built around the giant market of meat, seafood, and fruit and vegetable stands.
Ingredients Soup
6 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1lb 10oz onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups hot beef stock
4 tbsp brandy
4 1/2 oz Gruyere and half Parmesan cheese grated
salt and pepper
Croutons
8 slices French bread, about 1/2 inch thick
1 garlic clove, halved
Melt butter with the oil in a heavy-bottom pan with a tight lid. Stir in the onion, sugar, salt, and reduce heat to low. Cover with the lid again and let cook for 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure the onions don’t stick and burn. They should turn a dark yellow or gold and then you can open the lid and stir them more often so they don’t burn.
Sprinkle flour over the onions while continuing to stir. Stir in the stock and simmer for 15 minutes, partially covered.
To make the croutons: Place the bread on a broiling rack or cookie sheet and place in preheated over at 400F for 1 to 2 minutes or until the bread is noticeably toasted. Remove from oven and rub with garlic pieces. You can even press the garlic cloves to extract more juice and flavor croutons even more.
Stir the brandy into the soup and season with salt and pepper as desired.
Place the croutons in oven proof bowls as a single layer. Ladle soup over the croutons and top with the cheese. Bake in the 400F oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
