Baked Onion Soup With A GruyÈre Cheese Bread Crust Food

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 ONION SOUP WITH GRUYERE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and preheat broiler.
• Melt butter and oil together in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and sugar and cook 10 minutes, until onions are tender and golden brown. Add thyme, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper and stir to coat. Cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add port and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Add broth and Parmesan rind and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer 20 minutes.
• Remove bay leaves and Parmesan rind and ladle soup into oven-proof bowls. Place bowls on a baking sheet. Place reserved bread rounds or a sourdough round into each bowl and top bread with Gruyere cheese. Broil 2 to 3 minutes, until cheese is golden and bubbly.

ONION AND GRUYERE SOUP

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook butter until foamy. Stir in onions and cook a couple of minutes, then reduce heat, stir in salt, cover and cook very slowly until very tender, 60 minutes.
• Transfer onions and their caramel to a larger pot and place it over medium heat. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Stir in chicken broth, pepper and nutmeg and simmer gently, uncovered, 15 minutes.
• Stir in shredded cheese until melted (cheese will remain a little stringy). Serve.

BAKED FRENCH ONION SOUP WITH GRUYèRE PASTRY

Steps:

• Heat the butter and oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. When the butter has melted, stir in the onions, cover, and cook slowly until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the salt, garlic and sugar, letting the onions catch on the bottom of the pan, stirring frequently until they are golden in colour. Sprinkle the flour and cook slowly, stirring, for another 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat, allow to cool a moment, then whisk in 1 pint of the beef stock, the thyme and the bay leaf.
• When well blended, bring to the simmer, adding the rest of the stock, Cognac, Madeira and white wine and simmer very slowly for 1/2 an hour, adding a little water if the liquid reduces too much. Check for seasoning.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F Roll out the puff pastry and sprinkle with half the Gruyere cheese, fold into 3 and roll out again until it is half cm thick, then cut out 4-6 lids.
• Divide the soup among 4-6 ovenproof soup bowls. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of soup and cover with the pastry lids with a little egg wash seal and bake the soup in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheesy puff pastry is golden in colour and well risen.
• Serve immediately by breaking through the pastry which then doubles up as your crouton.

BAKED ONION SOUP WITH A GRUYÈRE CHEESE BREAD CRUST

Steps:

• Heat 4 tablespoons of butter and the oil in a heavy-based saucepan, add the onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf, cover with wet baking (parchment) paper and a lid and cook over a very low heat for 1 hour, until the onions have turned golden and are meltingly soft. During the cooking, stir the onions from time to time, to prevent them burning. Season to taste. Add the wine, stock and sugar, then bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. If the saucepan is ovenproof (if not, transfer to an earthenware soup tureen), place the bread slices on top, sprinkle with Gruyère and then drizzle the remaining butter, melted, over the cheese. Bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes or until bubbling and golden. To make this in a slow cooker: Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-based saucepan, add the onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf and cook over a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until the onions have started to soften and colour. Transfer to your slow cooker, cover with wet baking (parchment) paper and a lid and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. Turn the slow cooker to high and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes to darken the onions, stirring from time to time. Add the wine, stock, sugar and seasoning, cover and cook for 40 minutes. Then continue with step 4 above.