LES HALLES ONION SOUP

- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 8 cups thinly sliced onions
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 12 cups (3 quarts) Beef Stock
- 1 cup brandy
- 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- GARNISH
- Grated Gruyère cheese
- Dry toasts of French bread drizzled with olive oil
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
HERE IS PARIS’S answer to la guele de bois— that “wooden mouth” you get when you pour too much alcohol through it. It’s a marvelous soup, rich and fragrant, packed with restoratives, and very simple to make, in the spirit of rushing a bowl to one in pain.
- TO PREPARE
- Prep the ingredients as directed in the recipe list.
- Prepare the garnish: cut 6 to 8 slices of French bread ½ inch thick and toast them in a 350°F. oven for about 15 minutes, until they are dry toast. Drizzle each about 15 minutes, until they are dry toast. Drizzle each with a little olive oil and set aside. Grate the cheeses and set aside.
- TO COOK
- Melt the butter in a large soup pot over very low heat and add the onions, stirring constantly. Sweat for 5 to 10 minutes, covered, until they are soft and golden, then sprinkle them with flour, stirring, and add 2 cups of the stock. Turn up the heat to medium high and stir until the mixture is thickened.
- Add the remaining stock and the brandy. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper.
- TO SERVE
- Ladle the soup into individual, oven-resistant bowls and top each portion with a handful of Gruyère cheese. Place a piece of toast on each portion, sprinkle with the Parmesan, then run the bowls under a broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is melted. Carry to the table immediately on a tray—those bowls are hot.