Onion Charlotte

By Pikachutherecipereader

Excellent savory Charlotte. Crumble and brown some sausage and make a meat pie.

Ingredients

• 4 large Spanish onions
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Plenty of butter
• Salt and pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 10 slices white bread
• 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

Preparation

Step 1

Peel two of the onions and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Caramelize them low and slow in 2 tablespoons butter, about 1 hour, until they're a sweet brown tangle.

Peel and slice the remaining onions, cover with water and boil for five minutes. Drain, then return to the pot and add 1 cup milk, some salt and pepper. Simmer the onions until very tender, about 20 minutes. By this point you'll have a thick milky stew. Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/4 cup milk and stir into the simmering onions, cook and stir to thicken.

Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, caramelized onions and 3/4 cup of the cheese and mix well. Keep warm.

Trim the crusts off the bread. Cut out a perfect circle from one slice and cut the remaining slices long ways into three rectangles. Sauté the bread in butter until nicely browned on both sides.

Butter a 2 qtuart soufflé dish well. Staring with the toasted disk of bread in the center, line the dish with the bread in an overlapping pattern, covering all of the interior – across the bottom and up the sides. Press the bread against the pan to help hold everything in place.

Fill the bread-lined soufflé dish with the onion mixture. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Gruyere and bake in a 350ºF oven until bubbling.

Place a flat serving dish over the top, bring to the table and flip over to unmold. Serve immediately.