French Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 3 lb onions (yes, three pounds), sliced
• 4 tbsp butter
• 6 cups beef or mushroom stock
• ½ cup white wine or 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tsp thyme + 1 bay leaf
• 1 baguette, in thick slices, toasted
• 2 cups grated gruyère
• 1 tsp sugar, insurance

Method

1. The soup is the onions: cook them in the butter over medium-low, stirring every few minutes, 45–55 minutes, through gold, amber, and into deep mahogany. This cannot be rushed and everyone who tried regrets it. The sugar can help at minute 30 if they're shy.
2. Deglaze with the wine, scraping the precious fond.
3. Add the stock, thyme, and bay; simmer 20 minutes and season — it should taste like concentrated onion patience.
4. Ladle into ovenproof bowls, float the toasted baguette, and bury under gruyère.
5. Broil until the cheese bubbles, browns, and drapes over the rim — the molten overhang is contractually required. Serve with a warning and a spoon. Paris bistro gravity, achieved.