- 4
Ingredients
- 2 or more quarts of sawed beef bones, including knucklesand meaty scraps: plus veal and poultry bones.
- 2 large carrots, scrubbed and roughly chopped
- 3 large onions peeled and sliced roughly
- sufficent cold water to cover all.
- 1 large leek washed
- 3 celery ribs with leaves
- 1 tbsp of coarse salt
- 1 large herb bouquet (8 parsley sprigs, 1 imported bay leaf, 1 tsp of dried thyme, 4 whole cloves or allspice berries, 3 unpeeled large cloves of garlic)
- Onion Stock
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 cups quite thinly sliced yellow onions (about 1 1/2 lbs)
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp of flour
- 2 quarts of stock
- 2 cups of dry white wine or vermouth
- salt and pepper to taste
- Gratinee
- A loaf or 2 of firm full textured French Bread
- 2 Tbsp or more of butter
- 3 oz (85g) firm Swiss cheese in a piece, cut into very thin slices
- Freshly ground pepper-2 to 3 turns of the pepper mill
- 2 quarts (2 L) or so simmering onion soup
- 4 to 5 Tbsp of Cognac (optional)
- 1 1/4 cups (3 dL) lightly packed, coarsely grated mixed Swiss cheese
- 2 egg yolks, beaten with 4 to 5 Tbsp Port or Madeira wine (optional).
Preparation
Step 1
Making the Stock
Preheat oven to 450 F/ Spread meat scraps, bones (except poultry), carrots and onions in roasting pan. Cover and roast for 40 minutes tuening several times until nicely browned. Transfer to large soup kettle leaving fat in pan. Discard fat and deglaze pan using 1 cup of water over heat on stove scraping bits into the liquid. Add to kettle and add water until covered by 2 inches. Bring to the simmer and skim off grey scum that rises to the surface for several minutes. Add rest of ingredients. Cover partially and simmer slowly 4 to 5 hours adding more water to cover ingredients. Pour into large bowl chill, peel off coagulated fat.
Onion Soup
Melt butter and oil in a heavy botomed 4 quart pan, stir in sliced onions. Cover pan and cook slowly over medium low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until tender and translucent. Raise heat to medium high stir in sugar and salt and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes stirring frequently until onions have turned a fine deep caramel brown.
Lower heat to medium low and blend in the flour, and cook stirring for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and and blend in 2 ladlefuls of hot stock. Stir in the rest and the wine. Season lightly and bring to a boil reduce heat and simmer partiallycovered for 30 minutes.
Preparing the Gratinee
preheat oven to 425 F.Cut bread into slices less than 1/2 in thick, place in 1 layer on a baking sheet and dry out upper 1/3 of oven, watching and turning frequently until bread is evenly lightly toasted brown.
Smear a tbsp of butter in the bottom of each soup bowl and arrange over it a closely packed layer of toasted bread; spread the sliced cheese over bread layer. Grind on the pepper. Ladle in the boiling soup, and pour in the Congnac. Float a layer of closely packed layer of toast on top of the soup. Spread over the grated cheese with few grinds of pepper. Add a little butter on top of each. Bake for 20 minutes in middle of oven. Remove when bubbling and nicely browned. Lift the corner of the cheese cap with a serving fork and pour in equal parts of the Port egg mixture and stir gently under cap with small fork.