Walla Walla French Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 6 large Walla Walla Sweet onions(regular yellow work too), peeled and thinly sliced.
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 cups of beef stock
• 1/2 cup of  dry red wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon of thyme
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 8 slices of toasted French bread
• 1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere with a little grated Parmesan cheese

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Method

1 In a large saucepan, saute the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30-40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.

2 Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add the beef stock,  red wine, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, parsley and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

3 To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned.

Alternately you can top this soup with some home made onion rings!

Serve immediately.