Step 1

In a large sauce pan, or a small stock pot, or the instant pot melt butter over medium heat as you chop the onions.

Step 2

Once butter is melted, add chopped onions (I add them as I chop them) and garlic, bay leaves, 2 thyme sprigs, salt, and pepper. Use a wooden spoon and stir every few minutes until the onions start to turn golden, about 25 minutes.

Step 3

As your onions caramelize, prepare your fathead dough for the top. This is optional, and to make the recipe dairy-free just omit this step.  The soup is still delicious, flavorful and warming without the top layer.

Step 4

Once onions are caramelized, deglaze the pan by adding in the apple cider vinegar or red wine.  Once you add the apple cider vinegar in, use a wooden spoon to scrape off all the browned bits - these are delicious concentrated flavor. This step takes about 1 minute.

Step 5

Once the pan is deglazed, add in beef stock and simmer on low for at least 10 minutes, or until ready to serve (cover if you will be simmering it for much longer than 30 minutes).

Step 6

To serve, taste to adjust salt and pepper if needed. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs.  Ladle into bowls and top with broiled fathead dough, as described in the fathead step. Top with a sprig of thyme if desired as garnish and enjoy!

Step 7

Follow these instructions to make fathead dough.  Half a recipe is a perfect amount for 4 servings of soup - to halve your egg (as called for in the recipe) just whisk an egg in a small custard cup, and only add half to the egg step. Or make a full recipe and make extra fathead shapes to use as sandwich bread or whatever you desire :) They do freeze well.

Step 8

Form your fathead dough (also called mozzarella dough) into squares or desired shapes that are approximately the same size as the bowl you will use to serve the soup.

Step 9

Pre-bake fathead shapes at 400* for 10 minutes and then reserve until you are ready to serve your soup.

Step 10

Before serving, preheat broiler to high and move the oven rack to the the top of the oven. Flip over fathead dough, still keeping it on the parchment, and top evenly with grated Gruyere cheese. Broil for 2 minutes, or until cheese bubbles and starts to brown. Immediately and carefully remove from oven and transfer to the top of your soup-filled bowls.