Classic Onion Soup Recipes

CLASSIC ONION SOUP MIX

Steps:

• Combine the first 5 ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year. Yield: 4 batches (20 tablespoons total)., To prepare onion soup: In a saucepan, combine water and 5 tablespoons onion soup mix. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Yield: 3 servings., To prepare roasted potatoes: In a bowl, toss potatoes and oil. Sprinkle with 5 tablespoons onion soup mix; toss to coat. Transfer to an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 450° for 35-40 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Yield: 6 servings. , To prepare onion dip: In a bowl, combine sour cream and 5 tablespoons onion soup mix; mix well. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with vegetables, chips or crackers.

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.

THE BEST FRENCH ONION SOUP

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.

CLASSIC ONION SOUP WITH GRUYERE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and preheat broiler.
• Melt butter and oil together in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and sugar and cook 10 minutes, until onions are tender and golden brown. Add thyme, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper and stir to coat. Cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add port and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Add broth and Parmesan rind and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer 20 minutes.
• Remove bay leaves and Parmesan rind and ladle soup into oven-proof bowls. Place bowls on a baking sheet. Place reserved bread rounds or a sourdough round into each bowl and top bread with Gruyere cheese. Broil 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.

CLASSIC ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat, add onions and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden and tender, about 20 minutes. Add vegetable stock, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in dry sherry or cognac.
• Rub garlic clove on each piece sliced bread and toast on a baking sheet until both sides are golden.
• Place bread in a casserole or in 6 individual ovenproof, bowls and ladle onion soup over top. Top with a mixture of Gruyere and Parmesan and place casserole or individual bowls under the broiler and to melt cheese and slightly brown top.

CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the butter together with the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat, then add the white and red onions, leeks, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and salt and pepper to taste, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until all the onions are caramelized, about 30 minutes.
• Add the sherry and cook until reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Add the beef stock, bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as desired.
• Preheat the broiler. Add the baguette toasts to each soup bowl and ladle soup over the top (they will rise to the top). Top each toast with the cheese and broil until the cheese browns, about 30 seconds.

CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• CUT ends of onions and peel outer layers; CUT onions to 1/4-inch thick slices; HEAT 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-low heat; SAUTE onions covered for 20 minutes; ADD 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 3/4 teaspoon packed brown sugar (or 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar); RAISE heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until onions caramelize and turn a rich brown; ADD two mashed garlic cloves; STIR.
• REDUCE heat again to medium-low; SPRINKLE 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour over onion mixture; COOK, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
• DEGLAZE the pan with the cognac and sherry, scraping bottom of SIMMER uncovered for about 5 minutes.
• STIR in the dry wine; SIMMER uncovered for 15 minutes.
• ADD 6 cups beef stock, 2 bay leaves, 1 fresh thyme sprig (or 1/8 teaspoon ground thyme), 1/4 teaspoon ground sage, 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper; SIMMER uncovered for at least 30 minutes.
• REMOVE bay leaves and thyme sprig; SEASON just to taste with just enough grated parmesan cheese to flavor the stock (no more than 2 tablespoons), and kosher salt, to taste.
• MEANWHILE, fresh sourdough French baguette bread into slices to place across soup in serving bowls (cut to 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick, number of slices depends on size of bread/serving bowls); SHRED 6 ounces gruyere cheese.
• DRIZZLE each slice bread on both sides with olive oil; BAKE bread on a baking sheet at 325 F for 15 minutes; TURN croutes over on baking sheet and continue baking 10-15 minutes, until bread is very toasty (it will be quite hard, which is what you want); REMOVE bread from oven; SET broiler to high.
• LADLE soup into four bowls; PLACE croutes into each bowl; COVER each croute completely to the rim of bowls with shredded gruyere cheese (about 1/3 cup for each).
• PLACE bowls on a baking sheet under broiler just until cheese melts and begins to brown (keep an eye on them, about 45 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes); REMOVE from oven; SPRINKLE each lightly with grated fresh parmesan cheese and fresh snipped chives if desired; SERVE and enjoy!

AUTHENTIC FRENCH ONION SOUP COURTESY OF JULIA CHILD

Steps:

• Place heavy bottom stock pot or dutch over over medium-low heat.
• Add 1 Tbs cooking oil, 2Tbs butter to pot.
• Add sliced onions and stir until they are evenly coated with the oil.
• Cover and cook for about 20 minutes until they are very tender and translucent.
• To brown or caramelize the onions turn heat under pot to medium or medium high heat.
• Add 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt and continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently until the onions have browned and reduced significantly.
• Once caramelized, reduce heat to medium-low and add 3 Tbs flour to the onions.
• Brown the flour for about 2-3 minutes trying not to scorch it. (If the flour does not form a thick paste, you can add a bit more butter here).
• Stir in about 1 cup of warm stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up all of the cooked-on bits.
• Add the rest of the stock, wine to the soup.
• Simmer for 30 minutes.
• To make the "croutes" (toasted bread), heat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Drizzle each side of the bread slices with a bit of olive oil and place on baking sheet.
• Cook the croutes for 15 minutes in oven on each side (30 minutes total).
• Check the soup for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.
• Transfer to a casserole dish.
• At this point you can add the 2-3 Tbs cognac and grate the 1/2 raw onion into the soup.
• Add a few ounces of the swiss cheese directly into the soup and stir.
• Place the toasted bread in a single layer on top of the soup.
• Sprinkle the rest of the cheese in a thick layer on top of the bread making sure to cover the edges of the toast to prevent burning.
• Drizzle with a little oil or melted butter.
• Place in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
• Turn on broiler and brown cheese well.
• Let cool for a few minutes.
• Bon Apetit!

OLD-FASHIONED ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Place sliced onions and butter into slow cooker, and mix until onions are thoroughly coated. Stir in bread and chicken broth.
• Cover, and cook on LOW for 10 to 18 hours or on HIGH 4 to 5 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir well during last hour.

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.