French Onion Soup With Porcini Food

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.

ONE-POT FRENCH ONION SOUP WITH PORCINI MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Bring a small saucepan with about 2 1/2 cups water to a boil over high and place mushrooms in 2-cup glass measuring cup. Pour boiling water over the mushrooms to fill the cup (a little less than 2 cups) and set aside.
• Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in oil and onions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Turn heat up to medium-high, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
• Add fennel and leeks, season again, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes.
• Remove lid, increase heat to high and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are deeply browned, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat if the buildup on the bottom of the pot threatens to burn. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Scoop the mushrooms out of their liquid, reserving liquid and chop mushrooms finely. Add chopped mushrooms, wine, thyme sprigs and bay leaf to the pot. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until wine is mostly evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Add reserved mushroom liquid to the pot, pouring the liquid slowly and discarding the last few drops of liquid, which may contain grit. Pour in the stock and demi-glace, if using, and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any residue. Reduce to a simmer, and cook uncovered until flavors meld, about 30 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees. Fit the toasted bread on the surface of the soup in an even layer, breaking them up as needed to cover the surface. Sprinkle with the Gruyère and Parmesan. Set the Dutch oven on a baking sheet and bake in the middle of the oven until the cheese is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Heat oven to broil and continue cooking until cheese is melted and golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

BEST EVER FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• SOUP: In dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and salt, cover and cook until softened, stirring occasionally about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook until caramelized, about 30 minutes more.
• Stir in flour; cook 2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer, partially covered about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Cool and refrigerate till next day.
• CROUTON BREAD SLICES: Preheat oven to 375°F Mix olive oil with garlic powder and brush both sides of bread slices with the oil mixture. Place on baking sheet and bake 12 minutes, turning once, until bread is slightly toasted. Set aside.
• TO SERVE: Preheat broiler. On stovetop, heat soup to a simmer. Ladle soup into 4 broiler safe bowls. Top with french bread slices and cheese. Place bowls on baking sheet and broil 4" from heat until cheese is bubbly. about 2 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
• PASTRY PUFF VARIATION: Preheat the oven to 400°F Roll out one sheet of puff pastry and sprinkle with half the Gruyere cheese, fold into 3 and roll out again. Cut out 4 lids. Divide the soup among ovenproof soup bowls. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of soup and cover with the pastry lids with a little egg wash seal. Bake the soup in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheesy puff pastry is golden in colour and well risen.

EASY FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Place onions and butter in saucepan.
• Sauté on medium heat until onions are tender.
• Add garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes (don't let garlic burn).
• Add beef broth, consomme, and Woschershire sauce.
• Bring to a boil for 1 minute.
• Take ovenproof bowls (I use over-sized coffee mugs) and place 0.125 cup of cheese in bottom of each bowl.
• Fill bowl with soup leaving room at the top.
• Place toasted French bread on top.
• Top with 0.125 cup Swiss cheese.
• Place under broiler until cheese is bubbly.
• Serve immediately.
• Caution--bowls will be hot!

FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.
• Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in large skillet on medium heat. Add onions; cook 15 min. or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Add beef broth, water and bay leaf; stir. Bring to boil; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 15 min. Remove and discard bay leaf.
• Heat broiler. Ladle soup evenly into 6 ovenproof bowls; top each bowl of soup with 2 toast slices. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses.
• Broil 5 to 10 min. or until cheese is golden brown.

FRENCH ONION SOUP WITH PORCINI

Steps:

• Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 6 tablespoons of the butter and let it melt. Stir in the onions and the thyme and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions caramelize, about 40 to 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the mushrooms in a small pot and cover with a couple of cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer to reconstitute the mushrooms.
• Add the sherry to the pot with the onions, to deglaze the pan, then stir in the wine. Remove the mushrooms from their broth with a slotted spoon to a cutting board. Chop them, and add them to the onions. Add all but the last 1/2 cup of the mushroom liquid to the soup, about 1 cup. Add herb bundle and the beef stock to the pot and simmer the soup for 30 to 45 minutes. Cool and refrigerate for a make-ahead meal. Reheat over medium heat, covered, and prepare the croutons when ready to serve.
• Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Toast the bread on a rack over a baking sheet, until deep golden brown. Butter the bread, using the 2 tablespoons of remaining butter and liberally rub them with the cut garlic. Top the toasts with the cheeses and return them to the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Toasts may be arranged on top of crocks of soup, put on baking sheet, then topped with cheese and baked to brown, for a more dramatic presentation.
• Ladle the soup into serving bowls and serve with the cheese toasts.