French Onion Soup

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1
  Peel the onion, cut it in half, and then slice it into half-centimeter thick pieces.
• 2
  In a large pot, heat the butter and oil over high heat and add half of the onion. Sauté very intensely and quickly until the onion turns golden in places. Color is important, so keep stirring and sautéing until it's about to burn. At that moment, deglaze the onion with a few tablespoons of water and let the browned bits at the bottom dissolve. This will temporarily prevent burning, and once the water evaporates, you can continue sautéing the onion. Repeat this deglazing two or three more times until the onion has an even, golden color.
• 3
  Once the first half of the onion is sautéed, add the rest and let it soften again, stirring carefully. This time, you don't need to let it turn golden. After this different treatment, the onion in the soup will not be uniformly soft, but some pieces will provide a more interesting texture. Finally, add the sugar and stir for another minute until it dissolves.
• 4
  Dust the onion in the pot with flour (if possible, use a small sieve) and stir briefly so that the flour dissolves in the fat. Now pour in one-third of the broth and stir thoroughly again to get rid of any flour lumps.
• 5
  Then add the rest of the broth, wine, season with salt to taste, bring the soup to a boil, cover, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Don't forget to stir occasionally.
• 6
  Meanwhile, preheat the grill in the oven, or preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius if you don't have a grill function. Sprinkle slices of baguette or veka with grated cheese and arrange them on a baking sheet; if using rohlíky, slice them into thin diagonal pieces. Place in the preheated oven and bake for a while until the cheese melts and the edges of the bread turn golden, about five minutes.
• 7
  Season the soup once more with salt if needed, or with freshly ground pepper, divide into bowls, and garnish with the baked cheese toasts.