French Onion Soup Three Different Toppings 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.

FRENCH ONION SOUP - THREE DIFFERENT TOPPINGS!

Steps:

• In your largest, heavy pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
• Add the coarsely chopped onions and saute until onions are carmalized. This takes some time (20-30 minutes) but it is worth it. Stir regularly so onions become translucent but stir regularly and watch closely so onions don't burn!
• I move the onions over, add a little more butter, and saute the garlic in that spot for a minute-ish
• Stir in the wine (or broth if not using wine) to deglaze the pan. The bits stuck on the bottom are good! Scrap them up with your spoon.
• Add the stock and Worcestershire sauce
• Add bay leaf, and thyme.
• Bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes,
• If you simmer longer, broth will evaporate and you may need to add a little extra. I am a fan of cooking my soups low and slow so I always end up adding more broth to get the consistency that I want.
• Discard the bay leaf prior to eating or freezing.
• I use a toaster oven for getting my bread and cheese all wonderfully cheesy and melty. But, an oven on broil will do the same, it just may take a minute or two more. It is handy to put the bowls on a baking sheet to easily put the bowls in and out of the oven.
• If using bread (buagette, Italian or French), slice to about 1 inch. Toast both sides, Then, put on a lightly sprayed pan, add your cheese on top and broil for about 1 1/2 minutes. I use aa generous 1/4 cup and it is initially mounded - until it melts.
• You need to closely watch for that beautiful brown color on the cheese. I am sure all toaster ovens will require a different amount of time (and so would a full sized oven). It doesn't take long (1 1/2 minutes for me), so watch them closely!
• As the cheese is melting and browning, serve soup into bowls.
• When cheese has perfectly melted onto bread, carefully remove and slide onto the top of your soup.
• Use the above method if you are going to use either croutons or bread stuffing instead of a bread slice. The cheese will hold it all together so you can also slide these options onto your soup.
• This is a large amount of soup. I freeze what I don't use in 12 oz mason jars so that I have a homemade lunch or a soup before dinner handy.
• I can't remember the last time I bought canned soup. Love having my own in the freezer!

FRENCH THREE ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the butter and oil together in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, shallots and leek, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine and cover. Cook, without stirring until the onions are soft and beginning to brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Uncover, and continue to cook, stirring often, until the onions are a rich brown color and well caramelized, about 25 to 30 minutes. (If the onions begin to stick to the bottom of the pan or burn add about a 1 tablespoon water at a time.) Meanwhile, tie the reserved leek top with the thyme and rosemary using a piece of kitchen twine.
• Sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook, stirring, to cook out the raw flour taste, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and 2 cups water, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan; add the herb bundle. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire and remove from the heat. Discard the herb bundle, stir in the sherry and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the broiler. Divide the soup between 4 (16-ounce) oven proof bowls or ramekins and arrange them on a baking sheet. Top each bowl evenly with 2 baguette slices and top with the cheese. Put under the broiler until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with the chives and serve.