Recipe by Ina Garten adapted

• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup good olive oil – I used Olio Santo (Ina’s favorite)
• 3 lbs. Spanish onions (I used sweet), halved and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 2 lbs. fennel, tops and cores removed, sliced 1/4-inch thick (2-3 large bulbs)
• 1/2 cup good dry sherry (I used Taylor)
• 1/2 cup Cognac or brandy (I used Christian Brothers Brandy)
• 1-1/2 cups good dry white wine (I used Mason, 2018 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc – I think an $18.00 bottle of wine would be considered “good”)
• 8 cups canned beef broth (1/2 was 50% less sodium)
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves instead of 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt (I added only 1/2 tbsp. – add to taste as the beef broth is salty and so is the cheese)
• 1-1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (I used 1 tsp.)
• 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce – optional
• instead of a boule I made my own croutons out of sourdough bread (see croutons)
• 4-6 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions and fennel, cook over medium heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the end of the cooking time; then you want to watch the mixture closely. Turn the heat up if they aren’t browning which I did after 25 minutes.

Add the sherry and brandy, scraping up the brown bits and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes more. Add the beef broth, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

Comments: I like thyme when I make an onion soup – adds better flavor than bay leaves, in my opinion. I also prefer to use croutons versus a small slice of bread as the soup is much easier to eat. I normally use plain old white bread for my croutons but for this soup I used a sourdough loaf.

The sourdough bread I used was very porous and the bread soaked up the garlic oil – very tasty! The croutons did not brown as much as my croutons using white bread because the garlic oil  went into the bread instead of sitting on top of it. Still delicious and crunchy… Also I could stab them with a fork and most croutons you can’t!

Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com