Creamy Onion Soup My Version Of Brasserie Le Cozes Recipes

CREAMY ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a 3-qt. saucepan over medium heat, saute onions in butter. Add broth, pepper, thyme and salt if desired; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add 1-2/3 cups milk. Stir flour into remaining milk until smooth; add to soup. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

CREAMY ONION SOUP FROM BRASSERIE LE COZE

Steps:

• In a large stockpot over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden brown, about 1 hour. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce by half.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add sugar and moisten with water and lemon juice. Cook until the sugar melts and becomes a light caramel color. Remove from the heat immediately. Do not allow it to overcook, or it will become bitter. Cool briefly and add the vinegar to the caramel and whisk to combine (if mixture hardens, set it over low heat to liquefy again). Set aside.
• In a separate saucepan over low heat, melt the remaining butter and add the flour. Whisk for 1 to 2 minutes or until flour is absorbed but mixture is still blond-colored. Set aside.
• In a separate saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the flour roux to the stock and cook to combine. Puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor to smooth it to a gravy-like consistency. Add this mixture (called a veloute) to the onions after the cream is reduced. Add the sugar-vinegar mixture (called a gastrique), stirring to incorporate.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. The restaurant serves the soup with grated Gruyere cheese, croutons and green onions, but it is filling enough to serve alone.
• Note: To properly caramelize the onions, allow yourself about one hour. Don't rush it by using too high heat or you could burn the onions.

BRASSERIE BALZAR'S MIDNIGHT ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a 10-quart stockpot, melt the butter over low heat. Add the oil, onions, and salt, and stir to coat the onions. Cook, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally so the onions do not scorch, just until the onions are soft but still pale, about 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir to coat the onions. Immediately add the stock, wine, the white pepper, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. Bring just to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning. (The soup can be prepared up to this point 1 day in advance. Refrigerate in a covered container. Reheat gently at serving time.)
• Preheat the broiler.
• Ladle the soup into individual ovenproof soup bowls. Top each serving with a slice of toasted baguette. Cover the bread with a thick coating of grated Gruyere. Place under the broiler. As soon as the cheese begins to bubble, serve the soup.

ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, stir to combine with the butter, cover, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the cover; increase the heat to medium-high and cook, until the onions are brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes. (Stir the onions frequently toward the end of this stage in the cooking, so they do not scorch or burn.) Add the thyme and garlic, saute for 2 to 3 minutes more. Pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon; simmer until the wine is reduced by about half. Stir in the broth and salt and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Add the Cognac, if using, and season with pepper to taste. (The soup can be made to this point a day ahead and refrigerated.) When ready to serve preheat the broiler. Heat the soup and divide it evenly among 6 heatproof crocks or bowls. Top each soup with a slice of the bread and about 1/2 cup of the cheese. Place the bowls on a sheet pan and broil until the cheese is bubbly and brown. Carefully transfer each crock to an under-lining plate. Serve immediately.

BRASSERIE'S LE COZE'S FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a large stockpot over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden brown, about 1 hour. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce by half.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add sugar and moisten with water and lemon juice. Cook until the sugar melts and becomes a light caramel color. Remove from the heat immediately. Do not allow it to overcook, or it will become bitter. Cool briefly and add the vinegar to the caramel and whisk to combine (if mixture hardens, set it over low heat to liquefy again). Set aside.
• In a separate saucepan over low heat, melt the remaining butter and add the flour. Whisk for 1 to 2 minutes or until flour is absorbed but mixture is still blond-colored. Set aside.
• In a separate saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the flour roux to the stock and cook to combine. Puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor to smooth it to a gravy-like consistency. Add this mixture (called a veloute) to the onions after the cream is reduced. Add the sugar-vinegar mixture (called a gastrique), stirring to incorporate.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. The restaurant serves the soup with grated Gruyere cheese, croutons and green onions, but it is filling enough to serve alone.
• Note: To properly caramelize the onions, allow yourself about one hour. Don't rush it by using too high heat or you could burn the onions. I use a heavy enamel pot for this step.

CREAM OF ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat.
• Add 9onions and saute until very tender and pale golden, about 25 minutes.
• Add garlic, and stir 1 minute.
• Add broth and potato and bring to boil.
• Reduce heat; cover and simmer until potato is very tender, about 25 minutes.
• Cool slightly.
• Working in batches, puree soup in blender.
• Return to pot.
• Stir in cream, sherry and thyme.
• Simmer about 10 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle with chives.

ONION CREAM SOUP

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook onions in 3 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat until tender. Add the broth, bouillon and pepper; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat., In a large saucepan, melt the remaining butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; add process cheese and onion mixture. Cook and stir until heated through and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and parsley.

CREAMY ONION SOUP (MY VERSION OF BRASSERIE LE COZE'S RECIPE)

Steps:

• Melt butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and ½ teaspoon salt, stir and cover, letting onions soften for 5 minutes. Remove lid and let onions caramelize until golden brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Adjust heat to low/simmer if onions are browning too quickly. [The caramelization process will take 45 to 60 minutes, so don't plan on being anywhere else for that length of time, because the onions can go from nicely browning to burnt in a heartbeat, and your craving for French onion soup will go unmet - c'est tragique! So just take your time, and enjoy the process.]
• Once the onions are caramelized, make a slurry of the flour and white wine. Add the slurry, beef stock, sugar, sherry vinegar, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper to the onions. Bring mixture to a simmer, then lower heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. If you don't have an immersion blender, puree in batches in a blender. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
• Right before serving, take one toasted bread slice for each person being served (so if you are serving 8, you will need 8 slices of the bread), and sprinkle a little of the grated Swiss on each slice. Then toast these all in a toaster oven till the cheese is melted and a little caramelized, watching to make sure they don't burn. (I cover my toaster oven baking tray with foil and spray with Pam for easy clean-up with this step.) Put one toasted bread slice on each bowl of soup, and serve immediately.