Best French Onion Soup

I have been wanting an enamel glazed, cast iron dutch oven ever since I first found this recipe!  I finally got one for Christmas (thanks, Mom!).  I can now make this soup the way it's meant to be made and have found some more recipes I can't wait to try :).

Best French Onion Soup
from America's Test Kitchen

Serves 6

Ingredients: 

Soup

• 3 T. unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
• 6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 t. table salt
• 2 c. water, plus extra for deglazing
• 1/2 c. dry sherry
• 4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 c. beef broth
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine
• 1 bay leaf
• Ground black pepper

Cheese Croutons

• 1 small baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 8 oz. shredded Gruyere cheese (swiss cheese can be substituted if you can't find gruyere) 

Instructions

1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 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, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.  If you want to stop at this point, cool your onions in the pot at room temperature and then store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before proceeding with the recipe or move onto the next step.

 before going into the oven

 after 2 1/2 hours in the oven

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 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.

 ready for deglazing

 after 3 deglazings and the dry sherry

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

 after putting in the broths, water, thyme, and bay leaf

 boiling and ready to cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes

4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.  If you don't have broiler safe bowls, just broil the cheese on top of the toasted baguette slices until bubbly (that's what I did!). 

 Ready to eat :)