Bonnies French 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.

RICH AND SIMPLE FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter with olive oil in an 8 quart stock pot on medium heat. Add onions and continually stir until tender and translucent. Do not brown the onions.
• Add beef broth, sherry and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven broiler.
• Ladle soup into oven safe serving bowls and place one slice of bread on top of each (bread may be broken into pieces if you prefer). Layer each slice of bread with a slice of provolone, 1/2 slice diced Swiss and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Place bowls on cookie sheet and broil in the preheated oven until cheese bubbles and browns slightly.

BONNIE'S COUNTRY ONION SOUP WITH RYE CROUTONS

Steps:

• 1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• 2. PREPARE CROUTONS Melt the butter in an oblong pan, add the basil, garlic and toss to coat. Bake 7 to 10 minutes, turning half way through. Remove and set aside.
• 3. MAKE THE SOUP: Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large 3 quart sauce pan, and saute the onions with the garlic. Cook over medium heat until onions are very tender. Add the water, broth, chicken granules, country-style dijon mustard, basil leaves, thyme leaves, and black pepper. Simmmer about five minutes.
• 4. Add the soup to the 3 oven-proof bowls. Add a thick slice of Mozzarella cheese to each bowl. Return to the hot oven and bake about 10 minutes until cheese is lightly brown, remove from oven, and add the croutons.
• 5. Here is how it looks! Enjoy!

BONNIE'S FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• 1. Peel the onions and cut them in half. Slice them very thin. Choose large sweet onions.
• 2. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions to the Dutch oven and toss the onions around until they are coated with the butter. Cook uncovered. The onions will cook down. Stir about every five minutes so the onions don['t burn.
• 3. Remember slow and low is the way to go. Resist the urge to turn up the heat. You don't want to burn the onions. This is going to take about 40 minutes or more until the onions are caramelized a deep rich golden brown.
• 4. Once the onions are caramelized, add in the garlic and stir for two minutes, then add two tablespoons of flour, mixing it in with the onions and garlic. Next, add the beef broth, scraping up the bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven and bring the broth to a boil.
• 5. Add the Marsala wine, thyme, bay leaves, and marjoram. Add salt and coarse ground pepper, adjust seasoning. Stir. Turn the burner to low simmer and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes on low.
• 6. I use these little casserole dishes or ramekins will do. Anything that is oven proof. Place your baking dishes on a pan for easier and safer handling.
• 7. Turn the oven on to Broil. Ladle up the soup into the baking dishes. Fill it with soup about a half inch from the rim of the dish.
• 8. Add bread, or croutons, or baguettes, (We lightly toast ours in the toaster first.) Then add the cheeses and broil.
• 9. Place the pan with the baking dishes on the top rack under the broiler. Watch them carefully. It only takes about five minutes!
• 10. Here is how it looks! Enjoy!

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 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.

THE ULTIMATE RIBEYE FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Sprinkle steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Heat butter and oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add steak; sear for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove steak; drain all but 1 tablespoon drippings. Stir in onions and thyme; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender, about 15 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits. Boil until wine is reduced by half, about 15 minutes.
• Cut steak from the bones and chop into 1-inch pieces; transfer to the pot. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until beef is very tender, about 3 hours. Add water as needed to keep onions and beef covered.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Arrange bread on a small baking sheet.
• Bake bread in the preheated oven until toasted, about 6 minutes.
• Stir mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese together in a small bowl.
• Remove and discard bones and thyme sprigs from the pot. Skim off any excess fat. Stir in remaining salt and pepper.
• Set an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Divide soup among 4 oven-proof bowls or mugs; arrange on a large foil-lined baking sheet. Top each bowl with toast and cheeses.
• Broil soups until cheese is browned and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes. Watch closely to prevent burning.