French Onion and Apple Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 15 cups sliced yellow onion (about 4 pounds)
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apple, peeled, quartered, and cut into julienne strips
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup Madeira wine or dry sherry
- 6 cups lower-sodium beef broth
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 10 (1/2-ounce) slices sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 cups (8 ounces) grated Gruyère or Swiss cheese
- Thyme leaves (optional)
Preparation
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Continue cooking 50 minutes or until deep golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add pepper, apple, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves; cook 3 minutes or until apples soften. Add wine; cook 2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add broth and cider; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes. Discard bay leaves; stir in vinegar.
- Preheat broiler.
- Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan; broil 2 minutes or until toasted, turning after 1 minute.
- Preheat oven to 500°.
- Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 10 ovenproof soup bowls. Divide the croutons evenly among bowls, and top each serving with about 3 tablespoons cheese. Place bowls on jelly-roll pan. Bake at 500° for 8 minutes or until cheese melts. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.
Recipe Time: 2 Hours, 10 Minutes
Nutritional Information
- Calories: 254
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated fat: 6.4g
- Monounsaturated fat: 3.1g
- Polyunsaturated fat: 0.7g
- Protein: 11.1g
- Carbohydrate: 29.2g
- Fiber: 4.1g
- Cholesterol: 33mg
- Iron: 1.1mg
- Sodium: 426mg
- Calcium: 278mg
