French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup (serves 6) from The New Best Recipe:

Soup

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 medium red onions sliced thin
• salt
• 6 Cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 3/4 C low-sodium beef broth
• 1/4 C dry red wine
• 2 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ground black pepper

Note: 8 cups of rich beef stock can replace the chicken broth, beef broth and the red wine.

Cheese Topped Crust:

• 1 baguette, cut on the bias into 3/4 inch slices (2 slices per serving)
• 4 1/2 oz Swiss cheese, sliced 1/ 16 inches thick
• 3 oz Asiago cheese, freshly grated (about 1 1/2 Cups)

For the soup: Melt the butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add the sliced onions and 1/2 tsp salt and stir to coat the onions thoroughly with butter. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are reduced and syrupy and the inside of the pot is coated with a very deep brown crust, 30-35 minutes. Stir in the chicken and beef broths, red wine, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf, scraping the pot bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits and bring to a simmer. Simmer to blend the flavors about 20 minutes and discard the herbs. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.

For the Crusts: Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position; heat the broiler. Set heat-safe soup bowls or crocks on a baking sheet; fill each with about 1 1/2 Cups of soup. Top each bowl with 2 baguette slices and divide the Swiss cheese slices, placing them in a single layer, if possible, on the the bread. Sprinkle with about 2 Tbsp grated Asiago and broil until well browned and bubbly, about 10 minutes (*I found 3 minutes to be perfectly adequate, watch it). Cool 5 minutes and serve.

300 calories in 1 serving, 14.3 g fat (8.9 saturated), 1.6 g fiber