Beery French Onion Soup

Ingredients
soup
- 10 ml (2 tsp.) butter
- 20 ml (4 tsp.) vegetable oil
- 500 g (about 3 cups) onions, finely minced
- Pinch of fresh thyme
- 341 ml amber beer (1 regular-sized bottle)
- 500 ml (about 2 cups) reduced chicken stock
- Salt, to taste
Cheese croutons
- 4 slices of country-style bread
- 120 g aged cheddar (4 x 30 g)
- Black pepper
Preparation
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the oil and the onions.
- Toss the onions to coat with the oil and butter and simmer them, covered, until soft.
- Remove cover and continue cooking until the onions start to caramelize.
- Stir in the thyme.
- Deglaze with beer and reduce the liquid by half.
- Add chicken stock, bring to a boil and cook about 20 min. Season to taste.
- Meanwhile, slightly toast the slices of bread.
- Cover each slice of bread with cheese, season with the pepper (to taste) and broil until the cheese is melted.
- Ladle soup into bowls and place the bread and cheese slices on top of the soup in each bowl.