Zuppa di Cipolle Infornata

First cook the onions by heating the butter and oil in a large heavy saucepan and then adding the onion slices. Stirring often, cook the onions until they are very soft and beginning to brown over low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Assemble the soup by first adding a ladleful of broth to the casserole dish. Next add one layer of bread slices and cover the slices completely with 1/3 of the onions. Scatter the diced Fontina and half the grated cheese on top. Continue with one more layer of bread slices and then top with onions only. Pour on enough of the broth to completely cover the bread slices but leave the top layer of onions visible. Cover with foil.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the soup for 30 minutes, checking midway to see if more broth is needed. Mix together the grated Fontina, the rest of the grated cheese and the chopped parsley. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the soup and return to the oven uncovered and bake until the top is bubbly and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Note:

Any yellow or red onions will do, as I realize not many people will be able to use the sweet, squat Cannara onions I used. The bread should be stale, coarse-textured country style Italian bread so it will hold up to being baked with broth without turning mushy. As for the broth, you can use canned beef broth if you must, but honestly, if you make your own it will be better. I wasn’t sure what the cheese was used in the dish I had in Arezzo but it melted nicely into the soup, so I used Fontina along with a little grated Pecorino for flavor.

This dish even tasted better the second day so it really is a dish you can make ahead of time and reheat.

It is difficult to give exact amounts for the ingredients listed as it depends on the type and size of onions you use, the size of your bread slices, as well as how much broth your bread absorbs. Do use enough broth to cover most of the ingredients, leaving just the top layer of onions uncovered (see photo). I used a 25 X 35 cm casserole dish for my dish in the photo.