I know French onion soup seems like a super intimidating soup to make, but if you follow the instructions closely it is pretty easy. Now I’ll admit, I have made many batches of this soup where not even Bella would touch it, but through the mistakes I think I’ve nailed down a pretty good recipe. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 5 onions, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 fresh thyme sprig
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 quarts beef broth
• French baguette
• 5 slices of Gruyere

Melt the butter in a pot over medium/high heat. Add the chopped onions, bay leaf, thyme, chopped garlic, salt and pepper, and saute. You want to make sure that the onions turn a nice golden brown, making sure to stir pretty constantly, as you want to avoid burning the garlic. (Trust me here-I have burned the onions and garlic before and it stinks up your house and tastes horrible!)

Next, add the wine and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is at a constant boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions have turned a nice burgundy color. Remove the thyme and bay leaf at this point. Sprinkle the onions with flour and stir for about 3 minutes.

Finally, add the beef broth and bring the soup back to a simmer. Stir the soup consistently and once the liquid has thickened some you are ready to serve. I know typically the soup is covered in cheese, but I like to melt the cheese onto a piece of baguette and float that in the soup.

Sprinkle the baguette with a few thyme leaves, salt and pepper and serve.