Caramelized Onion Soup With Swiss Cheese & Basil Croutons

This delish recipe comes from Southern Living. The original recipe said it serves 8, but I think it serves 4-6. It's just DH and I, so I cut the recipe in half and use 2 large oven-safe soup mugs. The amount is perfect for dinner plus seconds! Enjoy!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• Soup

• 6  medium onions, thinly sliced
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1  tablespoon butter
• 1  teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1  tablespoon fresh thyme or 1  teaspoon dried thyme
• 1⁄2 cup dry red wine
• 8  cups water
• 3  tablespoons beef bouillon granules (or to taste)

• Croutons

• 1  cup swiss cheese, shredded
• 2  tablespoons fresh basil or 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 2  tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cracked black pepper (to taste)
• 1  sourdough baguette, sliced on the bias

Directions

1. Sauté onions and garlic in oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium heat until soft and golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
2. Add black pepper and thyme to onions. Cook 1 minute. Then add red wine, cook about 1 minute while stirring and scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan.
3. Add water and bouillon to pot. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. (Double check to see if it needs any salt and pepper added to taste).
4. In a bowl, combine cheese, basil, pepper and mayo. Spread over one side of each bread slice.
5. Ladle soup into oven-safe bowls. Top each soup bowl with bread, cheese side up, making sure to cover entire soup surface with a layer of bread. (My soup mugs are quite large, so I use 2-3 baguette slices per serving).
6. Broil 2-3 minutes until the cheese begins to melt and brown a bit.