French Onion Dip Soup With Dijon And Gruyere Croutons 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.

FIVE-ONION SOUP WITH SCALLION AND GRUYERE CROUTONS

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, saute the five onions, garlic, and a heavy pinch of salt in 2 tbsp oil until the onions are carmelized. Deglaze with the wine. Add thyme and stock to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about an hour. Adjust seasoning as needed, and remove the thyme stems.
• Shortly before the soup is finished, preheat the broiler. Mix a generous amount of the scallion greens with the cheese. Coat the bread coins with the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, and place on the broiler pan. Top each coin with some of the cheese mixture. Bake in the middle of the broiler for about 3 minutes to melt the cheese, then move them closer to the broiler element to get the cheese brown and bubbly.
• Ladle the soup into a bowl, and top with several Gruyere croutons. Allow them to rest a bit, to soak up some of the soup, before eating.

FRENCH ONION SOUP DIP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to broil.
• Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very tender and caramelized, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then brush butter on both sides of the bread. Transfer to a baking sheet. Broil until lightly toasted and golden, about 1 minute per side. Set aside for serving.
• Once the onions are caramelized, add the sherry and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced completely, about 1 minute. Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire and scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Simmer until the broth has reduced by half, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat.
• Stir in the cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, sour cream and Parmesan until smooth and creamy. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Broil until the mozzarella on top is lightly browned and the dip is bubbling at the edges, about 2 minutes. Top with chopped chives and serve with toasted bread.

FRENCH ONION SOUP WITH CHEESE CROUTONS

Steps:

• In a large stockpot on medium-high heat, saute the onions with the butter and bay leaf for 20 minutes, until the onions turn a rich golden brown color. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and brandy and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer uncovered for 15 more minutes.
• Add the beef and chicken stocks plus salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, taste for salt and pepper.
• *For the croutons*.
• While the soup simmers, arrange the baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• *To serve*.
• Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

ONE-POT FRENCH ONION SOUP WITH GARLIC-GRUYèRE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat. Add the oxtail (or beef shoulder) in a single layer (work in batches, if necessary to avoid crowding the pan), and sear until the undersides are brown (do not turn). Season generously with salt and transfer to a plate.
• Coarsely chop two of the onions; add to the pot, along with the celery, carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Return the beef to the pot. Pour in 8 cups water. Simmer mixture gently until the meat is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Transfer beef to a bowl to cool for another use. Strain liquid into a bowl over a fine-mesh sieve; press gently on the solids with the back of a spatula to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the solids; you should have about 10 cups broth (add water if necessary to equal 10 cups).
• Halve the remaining 6 onions through the root end, then peel and thinly slice them lengthwise. Melt the butter in the bottom of the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, tossing occasionally, until deep golden-brown and caramelized, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Pour in the port and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and simmer mixture over low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice, if desired. (For a smaller group, you could refrigerate some of the soup and reheat it later.)
• While the broth simmers, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast until golden, about 12 minutes. Rub the garlic halves over the surface of the bread.
• Heat the broiler and arrange a rack 4 to 6 inches from the flame. Using a cheese slicer, thinly slice 3 ounces of Gruyère. Coarsely grate the remaining cheese. Float the broiled bread over the surface of the hot soup. Layer the cheese slices over the bread; scatter the grated cheese over it. Transfer the Dutch oven to the oven and broil until cheese is golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes (watch to see that it does not burn).
• To serve, use kitchen shears or scissors to cut the bread and cheese into portions. Ladle soup, bread and cheese into individual bowls.