Five Onion Soup Recipes

FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the oil, onions, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until onions are deep golden brown and caramelized, 45 to 55 minutes. In the beginning, you will only need to stir the onions only occasionally. As they start to brown midway through cooking, you will need to stir them frequently, scraping the fond (the brown particles) from the bottom of the pan. If the onions are browning too quickly, reduce the heat slightly or add a few tablespoons of water to deglaze the pan and continue cooking.
• Add the wine and raise the heat to high. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape any fond from the bottom of the pan, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and the onions are jammy, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
• Add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes.
• While the soup simmers, preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• When the soup is finished, remove the bay leaves and add the sherry; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If the soup needs a deeper flavor, try a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. If it's not quite sweet enough, add ¼ teaspoon sugar.
• Adjust an oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on a baking sheet and divide the hot soup among the crocks (be sure the soup is very hot as it won't warm up much in the oven). Top each crock with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère and then Parmigianno Reggiano. Slide the crocks into the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let the crocks cool for a few minutes before serving. (Alternatively, if using regular soup bowls: Top each toast slice with some cheese and return to broiler to melt, about 2 minutes more. Divide the soup among bowls and top each serving with two cheese toasts.)
• Make-Ahead Instructions: The soup can be made and refrigerated up to 3 days ahead (without toasts or cheese), or up to 3 months ahead and frozen. Toasts can be made (without the cheese) and kept sealed at room temperature for up to 3 days.

CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP

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.

RESTAURANT-STYLE FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Cook and stir onions, garlic, salt, black pepper, and thyme until onions are soft and brown, about 30 minutes. Pour in red wine and sherry; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until you can no longer smell alcohol cooking off, about 15 more minutes.
• Sprinkle onion mixture with flour and stir until coated; cook for 10 minutes. Pour in broth, stir to blend in flour, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) while soup is simmering. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
• Toast the baguette slices in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, turning the bread over halfway through cooking. Remove toast and set aside.
• Set an oven rack about 8 inches from the heat source and turn on the oven's broiler.
• Ladle soup into 6 oven-proof crocks, filling them about 3/4 full. Place 1 or 2 bread slices into the bowls and top each with a slice of Swiss cheese and a slice of provolone. Carefully place filled crocks onto a sturdy baking sheet.
• Broil soup until the cheese is browned and bubbling, 3 to 4 minutes.

FIVE STAR FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes. Add the flour and stir until well blended. Add the black pepper, bay leaf, and paprika. Reduce the heat to low and let the mixture cook for 10 minutes. While stirring, slowly add the beef stock and wine. Let the mixture simmer for 2 hours. Season to taste with salt. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. Place in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to serve, return the pan to the stove and heat over medium heat. Remove the bay leaf. Preheat the oven broiler. Place 1 cup of the soup individual oven-proof soup bowls. Top each with a couple slices of French bread and then top the bread with a slice of Swiss cheese. Place the soup bowls under the broiler and let cook for 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Carefully remove the soup bowls from the oven and serve hot. Warn guests that the bowls are very hot.

CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring often, until deep golden brown and caramelized, about 30-40 minutes.* Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the stockpot. Stir in beef stock, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 15-20 minutes. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Stir in white wine vinegar; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Preheat oven to broil. Place baguette slices onto a baking sheet. Place into oven and broil until golden brown on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side; set aside. Divide soup into ramekins or ovenproof bowls. Place onto a baking sheet. Top with baguette slices to cover the surface of the soup completely; sprinkle with cheeses. Place into oven and broil until golden brown and cheeses have melted; about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

FIVE-ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt 1/4 cup butter in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Add shallots, all onions and leek; saute until golden, about 15 minutes.
• Add 1 T. garlic and cloves; saute 1 minute.
• Stir in broth and Sherry, bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
• Preheat broiler.
• Combine 2 T. melted butter and 1 t. garlic in a small bowl.
• Place bread on baking sheet and brush with half of garlic butter.
• Broil bread until lightly toasted; about 2 minutes. Turn over and repeat this step.
• Sprinkle bread with parmesan cheese.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Ladle soup into oven safe bowls.
• Top each bowl with 1 toasted bread slice, 1 slice of swiss and 1 slice of mozzarella.
• Bake until soup is hot and cheese melts; about 10 minutes.

CREAMY 5 ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter over medium high heat in a dutch oven. Fry the bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towel and set aside.
• To the bacon drippings add the yellow, red, and white onions, shallots, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Saute, stirring often, until the onions begin to caramelize (at least 15 minutes).
• Add the leeks and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle on the flour, and stir gently until all the flour is incorporated. Continue cooking, stirring often, until the flour has begun to cook (at least 5 minutes).
• Add the Chicken stock and taste to adjust seasonings. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits off the bottom. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, partly covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the bay leaf and use a submersible blender to puree the soup. Add the cream, taste to adjust seasonings, and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
• Ladle into individual bowls, sprinkled with some of the reserved bacon.

FIVE ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add leek, onion, red onion, green onions, shallots, celery and garlic. Saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add sherry, simmer until liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Add 4 cups stock and potato. Simmer until potato is tender, about 20 minutes. Pureee in blender in batches. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to simmer, thinning with more stock if desired. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with chives and croutons