Target: 6 × 4 inches · landscape

Slow-Cooker French Onion Soup

493 min · 6 bowls

Ingredients

□ 4 lb yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced

□ 4 tbsp unsalted butter

□ 1 tsp kosher salt, divided

□ 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

□ 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

□ 8 cups low-sodium beef stock, divided

□ 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

□ 1/2 cup dry sherry

□ 2 bay leaves

□ 1 large baguette, cut into 12 slices 1/2 inch thick

□ 2 tbsp olive oil

□ 8 oz Gruyère cheese, coarsely grated

Directions

1. Add onions, butter, 1/2 tsp salt, thyme, and 1/2 cup stock to a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 7 hours, until collapsed and tan-gold.

2. Deepen the onions in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in flour, cook 1 minute, then deglaze with sherry.

3. Add remaining stock, bay, and pepper; simmer 15 minutes. Meanwhile oil and toast baguette slices at 400 F until crisp.

4. Discard bay and adjust salt. Ladle soup into six oven-safe bowls, top each with two toast slices and Gruyère.

5. Broil 2 to 4 minutes until bubbly and browned. Rest 2 minutes; serve hot, handling the bowls carefully.

Cook’s note: Slow cooking softens the onions; a stovetop finish deepens their color before broth goes in.