French-Israeli Onion Soup

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the butter and oil in a heavy pot over low heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry for 40 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Add the wine and cook for 3–4 minutes.

   Stove
2. 5
   'Add the stock and the bay leaves and the thyme, season with salt and black pepper and bring to a boil. 'Turn down the heat and simmer 15 minutes.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡The soup's flavor comes from the browned onion: low heat, frequent stirring and patience. Onion burned at the edges makes a bitter soup.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3. 6
   Remove the bay leaves from the soup.
4. 7
   Divide the soup among ovenproof bowls, place slice of bread on top of each bowl and sprinkle with the cheese.

   LadleRamekins / cocottes
5. 8
   Put the bowls under the oven broiler for 5 minutes, until the cheese melts and bubbles.

   OvenRamekins / cocottes