Potage Garbure à l'Oignon (Onion Garbure with Gratinated Crusts)

Ingredients

• 250 grammes onion
• butter
• 25 grammes flour
• 2 litres white Consommé
• stiff sauce Béchamel (for the first method)
• rounds of dried flûte
• grated cheese
• milk

Instructions

1. Fry the finely shredded onion blond in butter, very gently.
2. When it is half coloured, dust it with the flour and complete the colouring by cooking the flour to a blond roux.
3. Moisten with the white Consommé and let cook 10 minutes.
4. For the crusts, either: pass the soup, drain the onion thoroughly, bind it with a little stiff sauce Béchamel and mask rounds of dried flûte with it; or: pass the onion through the sieve, reduce the purée to the point wanted, and mask the croûtons with it.
5. In either case dust with grated cheese, gratinate, and simmer as above; or serve the gratinated croûtons simply, without simmering.
6. Optionally add 1 décilitre of milk per litre, diminishing the Consommé by as much.