Riesling Onion Soup With Herbed Croutons

DH and I made this yummy onion soup for lunch yesterday and we really enjoyed it. The recipe comes from Williams-Sonoma. The recipe indicates to be sure to use a dry Riesling in this recipe as a sweet one will be too sweet for this soup (Late Harvest are the sweetest of the Rieslings). While the recipe says to use a reduced-sodium chicken stock, I thought that the soup needed more salt when I used 4 cups unsalted broth and 2 cups regular broth.

• Ready In: 1 hr 31 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4  large yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 2 lb total)
• 2  leeks, including pale green tops, sliced
• 1  garlic clove, chopped
• 2  tablespoons  fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
• 3  tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2  cups  dry riesling wine
• 6  cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
•  coarse salt, to taste
•  fresh ground pepper, to taste

• For the Herbed Croutons

• 1⁄2 baguette, thinly sliced
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 2  tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2  tablespoons  chopped mixed fresh herbs (e.g., tarragon, rosemary, thyme, and flat-leaf parsley in any combination)
• 1⁄2 lb Fontina cheese, cut into small cubes

Directions

1. In a large, wide saucepan or soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, leeks, garlic and tarragon and cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and golden, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes more. Pour in the wine, bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Pour in the stock, return to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, until reduced slightly, about 45 minutes (the soup can be made up to this point up to 24 hours in advance and stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Reheat gently before continuing). Season with salt and pepper.
2. To make the herbed croutons, preheat an oven to 300°F.
3. Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, butter and herbs. Lightly coat each bread slice on both sides with the oil mixture. Toast the bread in the oven, turning occasionally, until crisp and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. (The croutons can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored, tightly covered, at room temperature).
4. Preheat a broiler.
5. Arrange individual ovenproof bowls on a baking sheet and ladle the soup in the bowls. Top each serving with 2 or 3 croutons and an equal amount of cheese. Place the baking sheet under the broiler 7 inches from the heat source and broil until the cheese melts, about 1 minute. Remove from the broiler and serve immediately.