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Onion and Fennel Soup Gratin

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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.

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 85 minutes
Servings 4 to 6

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.

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