My French onion soup pie skips the unimportant part of French onion soup (the soup) and focuses entirely on the good stuff (the French bread that takes on the soup's flavor and the gobs of gruyère cheese).
1/2cupbeef stockyou can substitute a hearty vegetable stock to make this dish vegetarian
2clovesminced garlic
1/2teaspoondried thyme
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspooncracked black pepper
8ouncesFrench bread with the crust removedI suggest using a French round rather than a baguette as there is a much higher ratio of bread to crust in the round.
Onion Filling Ingredients
2tablespoonsunsalted butter
2large yellow onionssliced into 1/8 inch thick slices
Slice bread in half and slice each half into six pieces.
Soak the first six pieces in the egg mixture.
Remove and let extra liquid drip back into the bowl.
Lay bread pieces across the bottom and up the sides of a small greased deep dish 6" pie pan.
Repeat with the second half of the bread and the second pie pan.
There should be quite a bit of egg mixture left - reserve it for later.
Place both pie pans on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. The bread should no longer be wet, but it shouldn't have browned.
Onion Filling instructions
Heat a large skillet on medium heat.
Melt butter in the skillet.
Add the onions and saute, stirring regularly until translucent (about ten minutes).
Add the spices and sherry and cook for another five minutes.
Divide onions evenly between the two prepared crusts.
Pour the remaining egg mixture over the onions, evenly distributing it between the two pies.
Top each pie with half of the shredded gruyère. Be sure that the cheese goes all the way to the edge of each pan as it looks really nice if it drips a little off the side.
Cover the pie pans loosely in foil and bake for 50 minutes (still at 350 F).
Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is nicely browned but not burnt.
Notes
This recipe can be scaled to make larger pies instead of personal pies.