Traditional French Onion Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Melt butter with olive oil in an 8 quart stock pot on medium heat. Add onions and continually stir until tender and translucent. Do not brown the onions.
• Add beef broth, sherry and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven broiler.
• Ladle soup into oven safe serving bowls and place one slice of bread on top of each (bread may be broken into pieces if you prefer). Layer each slice of bread with a slice of provolone, 1/2 slice diced Swiss and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Place bowls on cookie sheet and broil in the preheated oven until cheese bubbles and browns slightly.

Steps:

• Place a 7 1/2-quart enameled cast-iron pot over medium heat; melt butter. Add onions and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt; cover, and cook until onions have heated through and started to steam. Uncover and reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, until amber and cooked down, about 3 hours. Season with pepper.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200 degrees.
• Place bread slices on a baking sheet and transfer to oven. Let dry completely, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Add 6 cups water to pot with onions; increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Immediately reduce heat to low. Add sherry; season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of vinegar, if desired, to cut sweetness. For more depth of flavor add a splash of red wine, if desired.
• Preheat broiler. Divide soup evenly among 4 to 6 ovenproof bowls; top with toasted bread. Divide cheese evenly among bowls. Transfer bowls to broiler; broil until cheese is melted and browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Place onions and butter in saucepan.
• Sauté on medium heat until onions are tender.
• Add garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes (don't let garlic burn).
• Add beef broth, consomme, and Woschershire sauce.
• Bring to a boil for 1 minute.
• Take ovenproof bowls (I use over-sized coffee mugs) and place 0.125 cup of cheese in bottom of each bowl.
• Fill bowl with soup leaving room at the top.
• Place toasted French bread on top.
• Top with 0.125 cup Swiss cheese.
• Place under broiler until cheese is bubbly.
• Serve immediately.
• Caution--bowls will be hot!

Steps:

• For the Soup:.
• Cut of tops and bottoms of the onions, then cut the onions lengthwise in half.
• Remove the peels and tough outer layers. Cut a V wedge in each one to remove the core.
• Lay an onion half cut side down on a cutting board with the root end towards you. Note that there are lines on the outside of the onion. Cutting on the lines (with the grain) rather than against them will help the onions soften.
• Melt the butter in a large heavy stockpot over a medium heat.
• Add the onions and 1 tablespoon salt, and reduce the heat to low.
• Cook stirring every 15 minutes and regulating the heat to keep the mixture bubbling gently, for about 1 hour, or until the onions have wilted and released a lot of liquid.
• Continue to stir the onions every 15 minutes being sure to scrape the bottom and corners of the pot, for about 3 hours or until the onions are caramelized throughout.
• Sift in the flour and cook over a medium-high heat, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the beef stock, bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 1 hour.
• Season to taste with salt, pepper.
• For the Croutons:.
• Preheat the broiler/grill.
• Cut 12 3/8 inch thick slices from the baguette (reserve the remainder for another use) and place on a baking sheet.
• Brush the bread lightly on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.
• Place under the broiler/grill and toast the first side until golden brown then turn and brown the second side.
• Set aside and leave the broiler on.
• To Complete:.
• Place six flameproof soup bowls, with about 1 ½ cups capacity on a baking sheet to catch any spills. Add the hot soup to the bowls and lay the croutons on top.
• Cover with Gruyere.
• Place under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese bubbles, browns and forms a thick crust.
• Eat carefully the soup will be very hot.
• Cooks Note: One of the most unpleasant tasks associated with French Onion soup is chopping the mounds of onions required. I've found that if I wear my sunglasses, pushed as far up my nose as possible, the tears never really come. When sliced, onions produce a gas that mixes with your natural tears creating an acid very similar to sulfuric acid. By wearing the sunglasses so close to your eyes it doesn't allow the gas to get inches Works like a charm!

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.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a very large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add the onions, bay leaves, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and light golden-brown, about 1 hour. (The onions will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan and turn brown after about 30 minutes; just keep scraping them up and stirring them into the rest of the onions. If they are browning to quickly, lower the heat.)
• Add the wine to the pot, bring to a simmer and cook until it has almost completely evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add the beef broth and 1 cup of water, bring to a simmer and cook until the flavors come together and the soup is rich, about 45 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Keep the soup warm on a low burner or cool completely and refrigerate to reheat later. (The soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
• Preheat the broiler. Place four soup crocks on a rimmed baking sheet and fill them about 3/4 of the way with hot soup. Float a slice of baguette on top of each and cover with 1/2 cup Gruyere. Broil until the Gruyere is golden brown (don't be alarmed if some soup bubbles out), 2 to 3 minutes.