Five-Onion Soup With Scallion and Gruyere Croutons

Name: Five-Onion Soup With Scallion and Gruyere Croutons
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 4 quarts, 8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 large yellow onions, chopped (1/4 - 1/2-inch pieces); 2 red onions, chopped (as above); 4 shallots, chopped; 2 leeks, halved lengthwise and sliced (white part only); 1 cup scallion, sliced (white part only, save greens for the croutons); 1 garlic clove, minced; salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 2 cups red wine; 8 sprigs fresh thyme; 1 gallon beef stock (rich, from beef bones roasted with tomato paste, like Beef Stock Beef Stock by txzuckerbaeckerin); 1 French baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch thick coins; 3/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese

Submitted by PanNan

"This recipe is based on the one in the Panera Bread cookbook. I've modified it slightly, primarily to reduce quantity. The recipe calls for sliced onions, but my family prefers smaller pieces in the soup, and Panera serves it with chopped onions in our local store. This tastes a lot like the soup there."

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photo by PanNan

Ready In:: 1hr 20mins
Ingredients:: 13
Yields:: 4 quarts
Serves:: 8

ingredients

2 large yellow onions, chopped (1/4 - 1/2-inch pieces)
2 red onions, chopped (as above)
4 shallots, chopped
2 leeks, halved lengthwise and sliced (white part only)
1 cup scallion, sliced (white part only, save greens for the croutons)
1 garlic clove, minced
salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups red wine
8 sprigs fresh thyme
1 gallon beef stock (rich, from beef bones roasted with tomato paste, like Beef Stock Beef Stock by txzuckerbaeckerin)
1 French baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch thick coins
³⁄₄ cup shredded gruyere cheese

directions

In a large stockpot, saute the five onions, garlic, and a heavy pinch of salt in 2 tbsp oil until the onions are carmelized. Deglaze with the wine. Add thyme and stock to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about an hour. Adjust seasoning as needed, and remove the thyme stems.
Shortly before the soup is finished, preheat the broiler. Mix a generous amount of the scallion greens with the cheese. Coat the bread coins with the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, and place on the broiler pan. Top each coin with some of the cheese mixture. Bake in the middle of the broiler for about 3 minutes to melt the cheese, then move them closer to the broiler element to get the cheese brown and bubbly.
Ladle the soup into a bowl, and top with several Gruyere croutons. Allow them to rest a bit, to soak up some of the soup, before eating.