Caramelized Onion Soup With Swiss Cheese & Basil Croutons

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 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)
• 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

Recipe

• 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.