French onion soup

I've been in France for ~1.5 years now, and I haven't had a real French Onion Soup. Shame on me (or not)? Anyway, as Sylvie mentioned several times that she was eager to have that once, I decided to surprise her with a bowl of warm soup.

Even though I don't like onion (especially because it's hard to digest and can easily give you an inconvenient afternoon or evening), I was one hundred precent satisfied with this meal. And I just understood that cooking the onion quite a long time makes them easy for the stomach... small enlightments every day :-)

This recipe makes 2, so if you want to serve a family, make it double.

French onion soup
Ingredients
2 smaller/average white onions
1 Tbsp flour
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup Champagne (or white wine)
1 cube veggie soup base
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
Cheese crouton: French baguette and grated cheese
(for a vegan version, use your favorite seasoning or simply leave the cheese out)

Preparation
Slice the onions, as thin as you can (or, I'd say, 1-2mm is enough). In a thick-bottom pan, heat the oil and add the onion. After about one minute, turn the heat down, and caramellize the onion 30 minutes. Stir just ONCE or twice maximum during this 30 minutes. Don't worry, if your saucepan is good enough, it won't burn.
Add the flour, cook for about 1 minute and then add the champagne. I used champagne, but you can use white wine as well (not a big difference). Add the soup base - I usually use the veggie cube I buy at the organic store, with 2 cups of water added, but if you have soup in your fridge, you can use that as well. Add the bay leaves, salt and pepper, and cook for about 10-15 minutes.

Now as the soup is ready, let's prepare the croutons. Slice your baguette and toast it in your oven. Pour evenly the soup in your bowls and place the toasts on top of them. Grate cheese over them and finally: bake them in the oven until the cheese starts to turn golden.

Let them cool for at least 15 minutes, and then serve with a cool spoon and a warm heart :-)