French Onion Soup with Pear & Goat Cheese Croutons

Peel the onions, cut them in half, and slice them into thin strips. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. In a large, heavy pot, heat 30 g of butter together with 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and season with 1 tsp of salt.

Stirring occasionally, slowly sweat and caramelize the onions gently for about 25 to 30 minutes until they are deep golden brown and wonderfully soft. During the last 2 minutes, stir in the chopped garlic and plucked leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme.

Deglaze with the dry white wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes until the wine has reduced almost completely. Then pour in the beef broth, bring to a boil, and simmer gently over low heat for about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.