Famous Barr's French Onion Soup

By Booper-2

One of St. Louis's favorite soup recipes was recently printed in the Post-Dispatch. I remember going to St. Louis when I was young and my family going into the department store's restaurant for this famous soup. Enjoy! Famous-Barr's French Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs onions, unpeeled
• 1/4 cup butter (1 stick)
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 7 (8 ounce) cans beef broth, divided (recommended Swanson's)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
• 3/8 cup all-purpose flour (such as Wondra) or 3/8 cup instant flour (such as Wondra)
• 1/2 to taste caramel coloring (optional) or 1/2 to taste Kitchen Bouquet (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 to taste French baguette (optional)
• 1/2 to taste swiss cheese (optional) or 1/2 to taste gruyere cheese (optional)

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 40mins
Cooking time 265mins
Adapted from food.com

Preparation

Step 1

1 Peel onions and slice 1/8 inch thick, preferably in a food processor. 2 Melt butter in a 6-quart (or larger) stockpot. Add onions; cook, uncovered, over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. 3 (The long cooking time makes the onions mellow and sweet.) Stir in pepper, paprika and bay leaf; saute over low heat 10 minutes more, stirring frequently. 4 Pour in 6 cans broth and wine. Increase heat and bring to a boil. 5 Dissolve flour in remaining 1 can broth. 6 Stir into boiling soup. 7 Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 2 hours. 8 Adjust color to a rich brown with caramel coloring, season with salt. Refrigerate overnight. To serve, heat soup in microwave or on stove top. 9 If desired, pour into ovenproof crocks or bowls. 10 Top with a slice of bread and a sprinkling of grated cheese. Heat under the broiler until cheese melts and bubbles, about 5 minutes. 11 Leftover soup can be frozen.