Baked onion soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 large onions
• 4 slice(s) of stale bread
• 2 tsp, leveled tarragon, dried, grated
• ¼ tsp sage, dried, crushed
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 2 dl white wine, dry
• 150 g cheese, grated
• Sunflower oil
• salt and pepper
• Paprika powder
• curry
• 1 bay leaf

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

I cut the onions into not-too-thin rings (about 4 mm thick) and sauté them in sunflower oil, adding the tarragon and a very small amount of sage. Stirring well is half the battle: nothing should become crusty or brown, but rather a mushy mixture. The rings should separate from each other. As soon as the onion rings are as soft as rubber bands, I deglaze them with the white wine, add the bay leaf, and toss everything briefly on the stove. Then I fill the pan with 2 liters of water and add two cubes of vegetable stock. I let the whole thing simmer uncovered for about half an hour. With this recipe, it’s very important to cook the onions long enough to lose their spiciness and leave only the sweetness! Add more water or white wine if necessary. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Paprika or a curry mix also works very well. Meanwhile, I preheat the oven to 200°C (top/bottom heat) and toast a few slices of stale white or brown bread (Swiss: Ruchbrot) without fat or oil in the Lyoner bread pan. Don’t let it get too brown! When the onion soup has reduced enough that the top slices are just below the broth, I transfer it to a roasting pan or an ovenproof gratin dish and add a little more liquid (water or white wine) if necessary. The soup should be quite thick, though. I then place the toasted bread slices on top. They should only be half submerged in the liquid; then they need to be held up by the onions at the bottom and should cover the entire surface. I then add a generous layer of grated cheese (Parmesan, Sprinz, or Greierzer), sprinkle with pepper and paprika if desired, and let everything bake in the hot oven with top heat until the cheese has melted, is bubbling slightly, and has taken on a bit of color. Serve the soup in a pot or gratin dish. Then cut everything into portions (!) and ladle it into soup bowls with a shallow ladle. This is probably the only soup that requires cutting with a knife before serving.