French Onion Soup

From the garden

• 4 large yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

From the pantry

• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 8 cups chicken stock — beef stock is the bistro classic if you have it
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 slices baguette or crusty bread, toasted
• 2 cups Gruyère or mozzarella, shredded
• salt — to taste
• black pepper

1. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add all the onions with a big pinch of salt and cook, stirring every few minutes, 45–55 minutes until they collapse into a deep mahogany tangle. Lower the heat if they catch, and deglaze any browned spots with a splash of water — that fond is flavor, not a mistake.
2. Sprinkle in the flour and stir 1–2 minutes, then pour in the wine and scrape up the bottom of the pot.
3. Add the stock, thyme, and bay leaf and simmer uncovered 20 minutes. Fish out the herb stems and bay leaf, then season carefully — the cheese adds salt later.
4. Heat the broiler. Ladle the soup into oven-safe bowls on a sheet pan, float two toasts on each, and bury them under the shredded cheese right to the rim.
5. Broil 2–4 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and browned in spots. Warn everyone the bowls are lava-hot, and serve immediately.