Soup's On: French Onion with Paprika, Pepper and Swiss

This is not one of my cooking disasters, in fact, I make this quite well. Famous-Barr used to serve this in their restaurant and you would always make certain to shop during the lunch hour. This is a scaled down version which we will be having tonight.

Swiss Cheese Slices - quantities will be as desired (LOTS!)
French Bread cut into thin slices or torn into chunks
1 lb 6 oz white onions- sliced 1/8 inch thick with the grain to make strands
3 oz butter
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon Spanish Paprika
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup flour
1 1/2 quarts beef bouillon (6 cups)

Make 6 cups of hot beef bouillon in a soup pot.

Cut onions in half with the grain about 1/8 inch thick.
Melt butter in a skillet and add the sliced onions.
Saute slowly, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add paprika, pepper, salt & bay while stirring.
Slowly add the flour and mix until well coated.
Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring continually.

Gradually add a little of the hot bouillon into the onion mixture,slowly to temper it. You cannot add the hot onion mixture to hot bouillon. Keep adding the bouillon until the mixture is well diluted.

Transfer the onion mixture a little at a time to the hot bouillon and stir well.

Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

****** REMOVE BAY LEAVES ********

Place soup in individual bowls, oven proof is best or you can use the microwave.
Place a slice of french bread on top or add torn pieces randomly into the bowl.
Top with swiss cheese.
Place in oven until the swiss is melted (or microwave)

You will end up with a onion-peppery mixture that is nicely spiced and full of cheesy goodness.

Onion Slicing Tip:
There are a lot of onions to slice and they can really get to your eyes. I cut the ends off of the onion one at a time using a large, sharp knife and a wooden cutting board. Then I peeled off the onion paper, sliced it in half and cut with the grain. Then I put the pieces in a bowl and rinsed both the knife and board which diluted the powerful onion fumes. I did this with each onion.

soup photo credit