Le Chefs French Onion Soup Gratinée Recipes

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

Steps:

• Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the onions and fry with the lid on for 10 mins until soft.
• Sprinkle in the sugar and cook for 20 mins more, stirring frequently, until caramelised. The onions should be really golden, full of flavour and soft when pinched between your fingers. Take care towards the end to ensure that they don't burn.
• Add the garlic cloves for the final few minutes of the onions' cooking time, then sprinkle in the plain flour and stir well.
• Increase the heat and keep stirring as you gradually add the wine, followed by the beef stock. Cover and simmer for 15-20 mins.
• To serve, turn on the grill, and toast the bread. Ladle the soup into heatproof bowls.
• Put a slice or two of toast on top of the bowls of soup, and pile on the gruyère. Grill until melted. Alternatively, you can cook the toasts under the grill, then add them to the soup to serve.

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.