French Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 4 pounds onions, halved and sliced ¼ inch thick
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2¾–3 cups water
• ½ cup dry sherry
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups beef broth
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (12-inch) baguette, sliced ½ inch thick
• 8 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of large Dutch oven with vegetable oil spray. Add onions, butter, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, for 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1½ to 1¾ hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.
• 2. Carefully remove pot from oven (leave oven on) and place over medium-high heat. Cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes (reduce heat to medium if onions brown too quickly). Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until bottom of pot is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any browned bits that collect on spoon back into onions.) Stir in ¼ cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and another dark crust has formed on pot bottom, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

Instructions

1. 1Pour the chicken broth, beef broth, and two cups of water into the pot. Add the thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and a half teaspoon of salt, using a spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom and sides.
2. 2Turn the heat to high to bring the liquid to a simmer. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the thyme and bay leaf, then season the broth with salt and pepper to your liking.
3. 3Place the baguette slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet while the liquid simmers. Bake for about 10 minutes until the bread becomes dry, crisp, and golden around the edges, then set the pan aside.
4. 4Move an oven rack 8 inches below the broiler element and turn the broiler on. Arrange six broiler-safe crocks on a rimmed baking sheet and pour about one and three-quarters cups of the hot liquid into each bowl.
5. 5Place one or two toasted baguette slices on top of the liquid in each crock, making sure they do not overlap. Cover the bread evenly with the shredded Gruyere cheese and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese melts and bubbles around the edges.
6. 6Allow the crocks to cool for 5 minutes before bringing them to the table.

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