French Onion Soup au Gratin

This is the basic recipe for a classic French soup. The recipe was taken from Julia Child's book. Julia Child is a famous 20th-century chef in America. It all started with watching the movie "Julie & Julia: Cooking Happiness by Recipe". I really liked the movie and it inspired me to explore Julia Child's book. Finding the book (with the help of my sister, thank you very much) and going through its pages, I realized that it is simply a culinary masterpiece. That's where I came across a recipe for onion soup that I wanted to cook exactly according to Julia's recipe and touch a little bit of France. The soup turned out rich, with a slight tang, very hearty and warming.

Yellow Onion

1.5 lbs

Butter

3 tbsp

Olive Oil

1 tbsp

Salt

1.5 tsp

Sugar

1/2 tsp

Flour

2 tbsp

Wine

1/2 cup

Brandy

1/4 cup

Beef Broth

10 cups

Black Pepper

to taste

Bread

slices of French or plain baguette

Cheese

Gruyere, Parmesan, or any other hard cheese

Garlic

To prepare French Onion Soup au Gratin, you need to slice the onion correctly. Cut the onion in half and slice it very thinly into half rings.

In a large pot, melt olive oil together with butter. Add the onions, salt, sugar, and mix with a wooden spoon. Cover and cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes until golden brown, stirring the onions frequently to prevent burning.

Then add flour to the onions, stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove the onion soup from heat, gradually whisk in 2 cups of hot beef broth and brandy. Mix well and pour in another 2 quarts of broth and wine. Place the soup over low heat, cover with a lid, and simmer for another 30 minutes. If needed, season with pepper and salt to taste.

Now let's make croutons for the onion soup. Fry bread in garlic olive oil on both sides until golden brown. Place a piece of toasted bread at the bottom of individual clay pots or plates, sprinkle with cheese, pour hot onion soup over it, and place another slice of bread on top of the soup.

To make garlic oil, you need to squeeze some garlic into the oil, let it sit for about 15 minutes, and strain it into a skillet.