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. 1Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Generously spray the inside of a large Dutch oven with vegetable oil spray. Add the sliced onions, butter, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook, covered, for 1 hour.
2. 2Remove the pot from the oven and stir the onions, scraping the bottom and sides. Return the pot to the oven with the lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until the onions are very soft and golden brown, 1.5 to 1.75 hours longer, stirring and scraping after 1 hour.
3. 3Carefully remove the pot from the oven (leave the oven on) and place it over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom and sides, until the liquid evaporates and the onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium if they brown too quickly.
4. 4Continue cooking until the bottom of the pot is coated with a dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of water, scraping the pot bottom to loosen the crust, and cook until the water evaporates and another dark crust forms, 6 to 8 minutes.
5. 5Repeat this deglazing process 2 or 3 more times until the onions are very dark brown. This builds the deep, complex flavor essential for the broth. Stir in the sherry and cook until it evaporates, about 5 minutes.
6. 6Stir in the chicken broth, beef broth, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, 2 cups of water, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom and sides of the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
7. 7Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. 8While the soup simmers, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at the edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
9. 9Adjust an oven rack 8 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler. Set 6 broiler-safe crocks on a rimmed baking sheet and fill each with about 1.75 cups of soup.
10. 10Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices, making sure they do not overlap. Overlapping prevents the cheese from melting evenly. Sprinkle evenly with the shredded Gruyere.
11. 11Broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let the crocks cool for 5 minutes before bringing them to the table.

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