Onion and Fennel Soup Gratin
Award-winning cookbook author and Food Network host Ina Garten loves to take a classic recipe and “turn up the volume.” Who doesn’t love French onion soup gratinee with its topping of onion-soaked bread and gooey melted cheese, she asks? Here, in this recipe from Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?, she adds some fresh fennel to give the soup more depth of flavor and the results are delicious.
Ingredients
- 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) (2 oz./60 g) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) good olive oil
- 3 lb. (1.5 kg) Spanish onions, halved and sliced 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick
- 2 lb. (1 kg) fennel, tops and cores removed, sliced 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick
- 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) good dry sherry
- 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) Cognac or brandy
- 1 1/2 cups (12 fl. oz./375 ml) good dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
- 8 cups (64 fl. oz./2 l) canned beef broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 Tbs. kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 1 small sourdough or white French boule, crusts removed, sliced 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick, and toasted
- 4 to 6 oz. (125 to 185 g) Gruyère cheese, grated
Directions
Heat the butter and oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and fennel and cook over medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn a golden brown. If the onions aren’t browning, turn the heat up. Add the sherry and Cognac, scraping up the brown bits in the pan, and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer uncovered for 15 more minutes. Add the beef broth, bay leaves, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and taste for seasoning.
Preheat the broiler and position a rack 5 inches (13 cm) below the heat source. Ladle the soup into heatproof serving bowls, top with the toasted bread, sprinkle generously with grated Gruyère and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot. Serves 4 to 6.
Reprinted from Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That? Copyright © 2010 by Ina Garten. Photographs copyright © 2010 by Quentin Bacon. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House.