French Onion Soup With Porcini Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a small saucepan with about 2 1/2 cups water to a boil over high and place mushrooms in 2-cup glass measuring cup. Pour boiling water over the mushrooms to fill the cup (a little less than 2 cups) and set aside.
• Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in oil and onions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Turn heat up to medium-high, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
• Add fennel and leeks, season again, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
• Remove lid, increase heat to high and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are deeply browned, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat if the buildup on the bottom of the pot threatens to burn. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Scoop the mushrooms out of their liquid, reserving liquid and chop mushrooms finely. Add chopped mushrooms, wine, thyme sprigs and bay leaf to the pot. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until wine is mostly evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Add reserved mushroom liquid to the pot, pouring the liquid slowly and discarding the last few drops of liquid, which may contain grit. Pour in the stock and demi-glace, if using, and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any residue. Reduce to a simmer, and cook uncovered until flavors meld, about 30 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees. Fit the toasted bread on the surface of the soup in an even layer, breaking them up as needed to cover the surface. Sprinkle with the Gruyère and Parmesan. Set the Dutch oven on a baking sheet and bake in the middle of the oven until the cheese is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Heat oven to broil and continue cooking until cheese is melted and golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons oil and butter over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir until softened, 10-13 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown, 30-40 minutes. Add minced garlic; cook 2 minutes longer., Stir in wine. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add broth, pepper and salt; return to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. , Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet; brush both sides with remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Bake until toasted, 3-5 minutes on each side. Rub toasts with halved garlic. , To serve, place twelve 8-oz. broiler-safe bowls or ramekins on baking sheets; place 2 toasts in each. Ladle with soup; top with cheese. Broil 4 in. from heat until cheese is melted.

Steps:

• In a 4-quart soup pot over medium heat, combine the olive oil, red, white, yellow, and pearl onions, and the shallots and saute until golden brown and soft.
• Add the leeks and chives and cook until the onions turn a deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, 2 minutes more, or until the mixture begins to bubble.
• Add 2 cups of stock every 15 minutes for the next 45 minutes, allowing the liquid to reduce by one-fourth after each addition.
• Add the mushrooms and thyme leaves with the last 2 cups of stock. The soup will be a very deep brown. Ladle into deep soup bowls and garnish with thyme sprigs.

Steps:

• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 6 tablespoons of the butter and let it melt. Stir in the onions and the thyme and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions caramelize, about 40 to 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the mushrooms in a small pot and cover with a couple of cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer to reconstitute the mushrooms.
• Add the sherry to the pot with the onions, to deglaze the pan, then stir in the wine. Remove the mushrooms from their broth with a slotted spoon to a cutting board. Chop them, and add them to the onions. Add all but the last 1/2 cup of the mushroom liquid to the soup, about 1 cup. Add herb bundle and the beef stock to the pot and simmer the soup for 30 to 45 minutes. Cool and refrigerate for a make-ahead meal. Reheat over medium heat, covered, and prepare the croutons when ready to serve.
• Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Toast the bread on a rack over a baking sheet, until deep golden brown. Butter the bread, using the 2 tablespoons of remaining butter and liberally rub them with the cut garlic. Top the toasts with the cheeses and return them to the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Toasts may be arranged on top of crocks of soup, put on baking sheet, then topped with cheese and baked to brown, for a more dramatic presentation.
• Ladle the soup into serving bowls and serve with the cheese toasts.

Steps:

• Heat a deep pot over medium to medium high heat. Work next to the stove to slice onions. Add oil and butter to the pot. Add onions to the pot as you slice them. When all the onions are in the pot, season with salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon fresh thyme. Cook onions 15 to 18 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender, sweet and caramel colored. Add bay leaf and sherry to the pot and deglaze the pan drippings. Add 6 cups stock and cover pot to bring soup up to a quick boil.
• Arrange 4 small, deep soup bowls or crocks on a cookie sheet. Preheat broiler to high. Once soup reaches a boil, ladle it into bowls. Float toasted crusty bread on soup and cover each bowl with a mound of cheese. Sprinkle remaining fresh thyme on cheese and place cookie sheet with soup bowls on it under hot broiler until cheese melts and bubbles.

Steps:

• Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the onions and fry with the lid on for 10 mins until soft.
• Sprinkle in the sugar and cook for 20 mins more, stirring frequently, until caramelised. The onions should be really golden, full of flavour and soft when pinched between your fingers. Take care towards the end to ensure that they don't burn.
• Add the garlic cloves for the final few minutes of the onions' cooking time, then sprinkle in the plain flour and stir well.
• Increase the heat and keep stirring as you gradually add the wine, followed by the beef stock. Cover and simmer for 15-20 mins.
• To serve, turn on the grill, and toast the bread. Ladle the soup into heatproof bowls.
• Put a slice or two of toast on top of the bowls of soup, and pile on the gruyère. Grill until melted. Alternatively, you can cook the toasts under the grill, then add them to the soup to serve.