French Onion Soup Gratinée Recipes

JACQUES PEPIN'S ONION SOUP GRATINEE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan and saute the onions over medium high heat for about eight minutes or until they are lightly browned.
• Add stock, salt and pepper (if your stock is salted, do not add additional salt) and boil gently for about 15 minutes.
• In the meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
• Toast the baguette slices in the oven.
• Place one or two slices of baguette in the bottom of each of four ovenproof crocks.
• Add 1/4 cup of grated cheese to each crock and place the crocks on a cookie sheet.
• Ladle the onion and stock mixture into the crocks.
• Top with the remaining grated cheese, pressing some of the cheese against the lip of each crock.
• Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until cheese is beautifully browned.
• In the last few moments, place the remaining baguette slices in the oven to warm.
• Serve the soup immediately with the toasted slices of baguette.

FRENCH ONION SOUP GRATINEE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.
• Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions.
• Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
• Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot.
• Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot.
• Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove and discard the herbs.
• Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
• Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.
• Preheat oven broiler.
• Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides.
• Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.
• Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup.
• Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slice Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the Asiago or mozzarella cheese.
• Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.
• Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.
• As it softens, the cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal.
• Serve immediately!

FRENCH ONION SOUP GRATINéE

Steps:

• Melt margarine in Dutch oven or large saucepan over low heat. Add onions; cook 15 minutes or until onions are golden brown and tender, stirring occasionally.
• Add broth, bouillon cube, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine cheeses.
• To serve, place 6 ovenproof bowls on cookie sheet for ease in broiling. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with slice of toasted bread; sprinkle each with about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture. Broil about 3 to 5 inches from heat for 1 to 3 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

FRENCH ONION SOUP POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• For the caramelized onions: In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Once melted and bubbling, add a large handful of the onions and cook until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat until all the onions have been added. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions turn medium brown, about 30 minutes. If the onions start to get too dark, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of beef stock as necessary. Add the sherry to deglaze the pan. Add the mustard and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• For the potato gratin: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, cut the potatoes into thin slices. Do your best to keep the potatoes in a stack--this will make it easier to layer them in the pan. Set the potatoes aside.
• Use the reserved butter wrapper to lightly grease the bottom and sides of a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet. Discard the wrapper.
• Arrange a thin shingled layer of potatoes in concentric circles around the skillet. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, then arrange an even layer of caramelized onions on top of the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a medium bowl, combine the Gruyere and mozzarella and reserve half for later use. Sprinkle on a layer of the remaining cheese mixture over the onions. Repeat the layers until all the ingredients (not including the reserved cheese) have been used. Press down firmly on the layers to flatten.
• In a large bowl or measuring cup, combine the heavy cream and beef stock and pour over the gratin. Cover the skillet with foil and place on a sheet pan. Bake the potatoes, covered, until the top and edges have begun to brown and the potatoes are tender, 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes. You can test by inserting a knife into the potatoes; if it goes in and comes out without resistance, then the potatoes are done.
• Remove the skillet from the oven, remove the foil and turn the broiler on high. Combine the croutons and French fried onions. Cover the gratin with a layer of the crouton mixture followed by the remaining cheese. Broil until golden brown and bubbly, 5 to 8 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

FRENCH ONION SOUP GRATINEE

Steps:

• Tie herb sprigs together with cotton twine; set aside.
• Melt butter in a heavy stockpot over medium-high heat; add sliced onions and salt; stir to coat onions with butter.
• As you cook the onions, gradually reduce heat to medium and keep cooking the onions, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until the onions are reduced and syrupy and the inside of the pot is coated with a deep brown crust; stir in broth, wine, and herbs; scrape the pot bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned onion bits as you bring the soup to a simmer.
• Simmer for 20 minutes or until flavors are blended; discard herbs; stir in balsamic vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste ~ At this point, you may refrigerate the soup in an airtight container for up to 2 days, then return it to a simmer before finishing it.
• To finish the soup, place your oven rack to the upper-middle position and turn on broiler; place heat-safe bowls on a rimmed baking sheet; fill each bowl with one cup of soup; top each with two baguette slices, sliced Swiss cheese, then 2 tablespoons grated Asiago cheese; place the baking sheet with its soup bowls under the broiler; broil until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly; cool 5 minutes then serve.
• HINT: Slice the baguette on the bias so that two slices will fit your soup bowls.