Onions to the 4th power

I found this great roasted onion soup recipe in an upscale food magazine from a Northeastern U.S. supermarket chain and while I love onion soup, oddly enough I had never made it before. Onions actually belong to the lily family - the same family as garlic, leeks, chives, scallions, and shallots - and provide numerous health benefits including colds and cough relief, cardiovascular help, and cancer prevention. Roasting brings out great complex flavor in onions and the combination of roasting the onions and then smothering them in red wine produces the most flavorable onion soup I have ever tasted. I hope you enjoy it as well.

Roasted Four-Onion Soup with Gruyere Croûtes

4 leeks, white parts only, cleaned, cut in half lengthwise, then cut into 1" slices
2 large Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 T olive oil
1 t salt, or to taste
1/8 t freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 T chopped fresh thyme or 1 t dried
2 cups dry red wine
8 cups beef broth, low or no sodium
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
16 baguette slices
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF.
2. In a large roasting pan, toss leeks, yellow and red onions, garlic, oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until well mixed. Place on middle rack and roast for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from oven, add wine, and stir well. Roast another 15 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and transfer onions to a large pot. Use 1/2 cup broth to scrape up any bits clinging to bottom of roasting pan. Add this and remaining broth to pot with onions.
5. Simmer soup, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning.
6. Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet. Broil 1 minute or until just barely toasted. Remove and flip slices over. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp. cheese on top of each slice and broil another 1 to 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove from oven and keep in a cool, dry place until ready to serve. (Croûtes can be made a day ahead of time.)
7. Serve hot, each bowl topped with 1 or 2 croûtes and a sprinkling of parsley.