French Sweet 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.

FRENCH SWEET ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven or large kettle, melt butter. Add olive oil and onions. Cover and cook over low heat until onions are soft, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the beef broth, water, cider or juice, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf., Meanwhile, arrange bread on a broiler pan; broil until each side is golden brown. Ladle soup into individual ovenproof soup bowls. Float a slice of bread in each bowl and sprinkle with Swiss cheese and top with Parmesan cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately.

SWEET FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Add onions to pan; saute for 5 minutes or until tender.
• Stir in sugar, pepper, and salt.
• Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Increase heat to medium-high, and saute for 5 minutes or until onions are golden brown.
• Stir in wine, and cook 1 minute.
• Add brothe and thyme; bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours.
• Preheat broiler to low.
• Plave bread in a single layer on a baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until toasted, turning after 1 minute.
• Place 8 ovenproof bowls on a jelly-roll pan.
• Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl.
• Divide bread evenly among bowls and top with 1 slice cheese each.
• Broil 3 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.

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.

COMFORT FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Saute onions in butter until limp.
• Add flour, salt, pepper, garlic & sugar.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes.
• Add parsley flakes, thyme, beef stock, chicken stock& wine.
• Simmer for 45 minutes.
• Add Cognac.
• Toast French bread & place in the bottom of ovenproof soup bowls.
• Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.
• Ladle soup into bowls.
• Top with Mozzarella cheese (thin slice or grated).
• Place under broiler until cheese melts & soup bubbles.

FRENCH ONION SOUP I

Steps:

• Melt butter or margarine in a 4 quart saucepan. Stir in sugar. Cook onions over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Stir in flour until well blended with the onions and pan juices. Add water, wine, and beef broth; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover soup, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Cut four 1 inch thick slices of bread from the loaf. Toast the bread slices at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) just until browned, about 10 minutes. Reserve the remaining bread to serve with the soup.
• Ladle soup into four 12 ounce, oven-safe bowls. Place 1 slice toasted bread on top of the soup in each bowl. Fold Swiss cheese slices, and fit onto toasted bread slices. Place soup bowls on a cookie sheet for easier handling.
• Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or just until cheese is melted