Yield: About 6 cups
1 2/3 pounds yellow onions
8 teaspoons salted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
4 teaspoons Minor’s Beef Base or another high-quality beef base
4 cups water
5 1/3 tablespoons Balducci’s Sonata White Table Wine or a medium sweet white wine
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1 1/3 teaspoons Kitchen Bouquet seasoning sauce
Salt to taste
For each serving
¾ cup onion soup
1 thin slice toasted French bread
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) grated Swiss cheese
1. Make soup, preferably at least one day before serving. Peel and dice onions. In a large, heavy saucepan, melt butter. Add onions, cook on very low heat for 90 minutes, stirring often, until onions turn light gold in color.
2. Stir in flour, paprika, pepper and bay leaf and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often to cook out the floury taste and release the aroma of the spices.
3. Mix Beef Base and water; a cup at a time, add mixture to the pot, incorporating each cupful before adding another; after the first cup, stir in wine. Add Kitchen Bouquet, increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and let soup simmer for 2 hours. Season with salt.
4. Let cool, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Just before serving, bring soup back to a boil on medium heat.
5. To serve Balducci’s-style, pour hot soup into an ovenproof stoneware bowl. Top with bread slice and Swiss cheese. Put under broiler until cheese melts and turns golden brown.
Per serving: 531 calories; 29g fat; 16g saturated fat; 87mg cholesterol; 30g protein; 35g carbohydrate; 6g sugar; 3g fiber; 397mg sodium; 955mg calcium.
Recipe adapted for home kitchens by the Post-Dispatch.