ISO: French Onion Soup Recipe

[lu lu]

Does anyone have a good recipe for French Onion Soup? I just had some for lunch and I had forgotten how much I liked it! I looked under the recipe finder and nothing came up. Thanks!:)

[Mandy]

This is a nice twist on the normal French Onion Soup. I've made this one and really loved it.

French Onion-Beef Bowl

This brothy, soul-warming soup is an all-in-one meal. You can substitute cooked vermicelli for the soba, if desired.


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Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds boned sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
6 cups vertically sliced onion (about 3 onions)
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups water
1 cup dry white wine
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (10-1/2-ounce) can beef consomme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups hot cooked soba noodles (about 8 ounces uncooked buckwheat noodles)
2 cups garlic-flavored croutons
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyere or Jarlsberg cheese


Directions
Prep Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 1 to 4 hours.

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and sugar, and cook 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir flour into onion mixture, and cook, uncovered, 2 minutes. Add water, wine, broth, and consomme, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add the beef mixture, Worcestershire, pepper, and salt; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Place noodles into each of 6 large bowls; top with broth mixture, croutons, and cheese.

[Gail]

Although I note CL has published a French onion soup with beef and barley, perhaps there's another someone else may have. If you're interested in that one, I'll type it up for you.

Admittedly, I'm a sucker for the full-fat version-- one of those indulgences I allow myself on cold, windy winter nights:

BAKED ONION SOUP
Onion soup topped with cheese-laden croutons makes a perfect main dish for a soup supper on a cold night. This version is a quick and easy one so filled with flavor we chose it as one of the twelve best recipes of the year for 1987.

4 cups sliced onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup butter or margarine (although it's kind of like splashing playfully at the Rock of Gibraltar with all the cheese in this recipe, you can always cut back on the amount of oil and use a non-stick pan to sauté your onions)
2 (14 1/2-oz) cans clear beef broth
1 (14 1/2- oz) can clear chicken broth (fat-free, is okay)
1/4 cup dry sherry
Salt, pepper
12 small slices French bread (got a baguette? We're talking hand-sliced French, not the stuff that's machine-sliced from your market)
Grated Parmesan cheese (no green can, please)
1/2 pound Jack cheese, shredded (here's where I differ. I figure if I'm doing to throw caution to the winds, I might as well go whole hog, so I use slices-- at least two per serving--oink-- depending upon thickness)

Sauté the onions and garlic in butter in a large Dutch oven over low heat until browned and tender. (we'll assume they mean the onions are browned and tender, not you) Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Add the beef and chicken broths. Heat to boiling, reduce heat, and simmer about 5 minutes to blend flavors. Add sherry and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toast the bread and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Ladle the hot soup into 4 individual ovenproof casseroles. Place 3 slices of the toasted bread over each. Sprinkle with Jack cheese. Bake at 375º for about 30 minutes, or until soup is bubbly and cheese is browned.

Makes 4 servings

(From: Best Recipes from the Los Angeles Times)

A couple of notes here, for what they're worth. I have those cute little brown earthenware bowls with handles which seem to scream out for onion soup. Traditionally, I'll use a big loaf of French bread and cut off about an inch slice, toast it, and cram it into the bowl before sprinkling with cheese. I then ladle in the soup and onions, top with the Jack cheese and put two bowls on the tray in my toaster oven, cranking the heat up to about 400º or so. Really, the soup is already cooked, I figure, so it's just a matter of browning the cheese really-- and doing it this way takes a fraction of the time it'd take as written above. (like five to ten minutes) Keep an eye on the bowls, and take the soup out when the cheese is bubbly, browned and dripping down the sides of the bowls (fun to pull off and eat when cooled.)

[lu lu]

Thanks so much Gail! That is exactly the type of recipe I was looking for! Can't wait to try it. :)

Mandy, thanks for posting your recipe. I will have to try that one as well!

[KValley]

lu lu,

I have a to-die-for French Onion Soup recipe, but it is baked in a clay roasting pot. THe onions are first baked until tender, then the broth is added, more baking, finally the toasted bread, sprinkled with cheese is baked on top of the soup until cheese is bubbling and golden (to quote the recipe!). Is it rich as all get out, but <only> involves 2 TBLs butter, 2 cups grated cheese. There is VERY little prep time, but it does call for long, leisurely baking.

Let me know if you have a clay roaster and are interested- I'd be happy to post.

Julie

[lu lu]

Julie,
Your recipe sounds great too! But, I don't have a clay roasting pot. Do you think it would effect the recipe to do it in another pot?

[funnybone]

Tyler from "Food 911" had one once that looked great and so did Alton Brown.


I found them on www.foodtv.com

French Onion Soup

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

3 tablespoons bacon drippings (4 bacon strips)
6 Maui or Vidalia onions (3 pounds/8 cups), thinly sliced
2 large shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup burgundy wine
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 quarts chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sliced baquette, toasted and seasoned
Swiss cheese, grated
Flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
In a large saucepan over medium heat, fry 4 strips of bacon until crisp. Discard bacon. Saute onions and shallots in bacon fat until tender, about 10 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar, wine and oregano; cook for 30 minutes. Stir frequently until the onions caramelize and are golden brown.

Blend in chicken broth. Simmer gently for 1 hour, stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into 4 ovenproof bowls. Float the croutons on top of soup and sprinkle with grated cheese. Broil until cheese melts. Garnish with flat-leaf parsley, serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 50 minutes


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French Onion Soup

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

10 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white wine
10 ounces canned beef consume
10 ounces chicken broth
10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley
1 loaf country style bread
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Splash Cognac (optional)
1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated

Trim the ends off each onion then slice from end to end. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.

Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.

Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute.

Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac. Ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings

[SusanPC]

Julie,

Is a clay roasting put like a clay pot you do a roast in? I just got one and haven't used it yet....but is it pretty big. IF this is it I would love the recipe. Thanks!

Susan

[Gail]

How could anyone resist a "to die for" recipe? Bring it on!

[KValley]

You know, I don't see why this wouldn't work in a regular (non-clay) roasting pan- just pre-heat the oven. I just love my clay cooker so- every meat dish I've ever made comes out so juicy and tender...

Susan- it sounds like we are talking about the same thing. If you don't have the cookbook I list below, get it! It's one of the few I've found for clay cookers that's comprehensive and offers some outstanding recipes. The Arroz con Pollo is one of my favorites.

The recipe doesn't specify, but I recommend using sweet onions- Vidalias, Walla Wallas, what have you. My personal preference. And experiment with the cheese- I like this with Gouda, Gruyere, as well as Parmesan or Swiss.

This recipe is also so basic, it leaves room for a lot of tinkering. I'm already getting ideas from the great recipes y'all have posted.

Oven Onion Soup

From Clay Cookery
Serves 6

Traditional French onion soup, laden with crisp slices of toast and crowned with melted cheese, is easy to prepare in a clay cooker

6 large onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
3 cans regular strength or 5 1/4 cups homemade beef broth
1 cup dry white wine
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
6 slices French bread, 1/2 inch thick
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded aged Swiss cheese

1. Soak top and bottom of 3 1/4 quart clay cooker in water about 15 minutes; drain this is only true for unglazed cookers- mine is glazed and I do not need to pre-soak

2. Place onions and garlic in cooker; dot with butter

3. Place covered cooker in cold oven. Set oven at 400 degrees. Bake, stirring once or twice, until onions are limp and light brown, about 1 hour.

4. Sprinkle onions with thyme. Pour in broth and wine. Bake uncovered 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. While soup is cooking, toast bread in oven until light brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Combine Parmesan and Swiss CHeeses. Float toast slices in a single layer over soup. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses.

6. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Bake soup uncovered 10 minutes. Uncrease oven temperature to 550 degrees and/or broil; cook until cheese is golden and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Serve very hot.

I am envisioning a cold winter's night, this soup, a warm spinach salad with figs and walnuts, something warm and chocolately for dessert, a glass of port, a fire, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in "To Have and Have Not".

Today it is 90 degrees.

[Gina O]

This is my favorite French Onion Soup recipe.... from the master!

French Onion Soup

Recipe adapted from Julia Child, "The Way to Cook

1/2 stick butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 cups thinly sliced onions (about 2-1/2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour
8 cups homemade beef stock, or good quality store bought stock
1/4 cup Cognac, or other good brandy
1 cup dry white wine
8 (1/2-inch) thick slices of French bread, toasted
3/4 pound coarsely grated Gruyere


Heat a heavy saucepan over moderate heat with the butter and oil. When the butter has melted, stir in the onions, cover, and cook slowly until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Blend in the salt and sugar, increase the heat to medium high, and let the onions brown, stirring frequently until they are a dark walnut color, 25 to 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour and cook slowly, stirring, for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool a moment, then whisk in 2 cups of hot stock. When well blended, bring to the simmer, adding the rest of the stock, Cognac, and wine. Cover loosely, and simmer very slowly 1 1/2 hours, adding a little water if the liquid reduces too much. Taste for seasoning

Divide the soup among 4 ovenproof bowls. Arrange toast on top of soup and sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Place bowls on a cookie sheet and place under a preheated broiler until cheese melts and forms a crust over the tops of the bowls. Serve immediately.


Yield: 4 servings
Difficulty: Easy