Restaurant-Style French Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 0.5 cups butter
• 8 onions , sliced
• 2 cloves garlic , crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 0.5 teaspoons salt , or to taste
• 0.5 teaspoons ground black pepper , or to taste
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon sherry
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 quartss beef broth
• 1 French baguette , cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• 2 tablespoons olive oil , or as needed
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 6 slices provolone cheese

Instructions

1. 1

   Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Cook and stir onions, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in hot butter until onions are soft and brown, about 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Pour in red wine and sherry; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until you can no longer smell alcohol cooking off, about 15 minutes.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

4. 4

   Sprinkle onion mixture with flour and stir until coated; cook for 10 minutes. Pour in broth, stir to blend in flour, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

5. 5

   While soup is simmering, arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake baguette slices in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, flipping slices halfway through baking. Set aside.

6. 6

   Set an oven rack about 8 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.

7. 7

   Ladle soup into 6 oven-proof crocks, filling them about 3/4 full. Place 1 or 2 toasted baguette slices over each soup serving, then top each with a Swiss cheese and provolone slice. Carefully place filled crocks onto a sturdy baking sheet.

8. 8

   Cook soup under the preheated broiler until cheese is browned and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes.