The only trick to great French onion soup is to cook the onions properly. Think in terms of one onion per person – really! Roughly chop equal amounts of two kinds on onions: Vidalia, white, yellow – whatever is handy or available (or cheapest) in the produce section. Melt a quarter stick of butter in a large sauce pan, and then add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions with the heat on medium-high. The amount of onions will seem unwieldy at first, but you’ll be surprised how much they shrink as the water in them cooks off.
The key, as the onions soften and shrink, is to keep stirring them occasionally, and continue to cook them until the sugars caramelize. Brown bits will begin to accumulate on the bottom of the pan – stir them back in until the onions are turning brown and sticky. This entire cooking process with take a good 20-30 minutes, depending on how many onions you are cooking.
Add a quarter cup of white wine, marsala, or good cooking sherry to deglaze the pan. When the alcohol is absorbed, sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of flour on the onions to add body, and then add a can of beef stock for every two onions and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drizzle a teaspoon of worcestershire sauce into the soup, stir in and turn off the heat.
Place small bowls onto a cookie sheet, ladle soup into each, and place a thick slice of French bread on top of each bowl of soup. Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese liberally into each piece of bread, and broil the cookie sheet of soup bowls in the broiler until the cheese melts and begins to brown. Serve immediately.
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