French Onion Soup Soufflé

French onion soup is a frequent visitor in my house. It involves very few ingredients and a minimal amount of effort, but it tastes rich and homey. A bowl of it always takes me back to late nights at Long Island diners with childhood friends, back when none of us had to get up early for work the next day.

Unfortunately, Texas summers aren't as conducive to hot soup as those breezy evenings back in New York. I decided to sneak in a little bit of "home" anyway.

French Onion Soup Soufflé

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp	butter
1	medium onion, diced
2 tsp	Better Than Bouillon beef base
1/4 cup	hot water
3 Tbsp	flour
5	eggs whites
4	egg yolks
1/2 cup	Gruyere or Comte cheese, grated

Directions:
1.	Melt 2 Tbsp of butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until lightly caramelized. Transfer onions to a bowl.
2.	In the same skillet, melt the remaining 3 Tbsp of butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute--we want a blonde roux for maximum thickness.
3.	Dissolve the beef base in the hot water. Whisk into the roux. You should wind up with a brown colored paste. Turn off the heat.
4.	Mix 1/4 cup of grated cheese into the beef paste. It should melt even with the heat off. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl to cool a bit.
5.	Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter your soufflé dish and press the remaining cheese against the sides. (You may need to grate additional cheese). I opted to use two 8 oz Le Creuset mini cocottes instead.
6.	In a large, clean bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. I recommend using a hand mixer for this step--stand mixers tend to leave some liquid whites at the bottom of the bowl.
7.	Beat egg yolks into the beef paste. By now, it should be warm but not hot enough to cook the yolks. Mix in the caramelized onions
8.	Mix 1/8 of the egg whites into the French onion base.
9.	Gently fold 1/3 of the remaining egg whites into the base. Repeat until the egg whites are gone. Do not over mix, or the whites will deflate!
10.	Transfer into the soufflé dish. Wipe the rim to ensure straight sides. You can also flatten the top with a spatula, but I decided to leave it alone for a "natural" look. Set your dish on a cookie sheet for better maneuverability.
11.	Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden and the center is just barely jiggly. Serve immediately.