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French Onion Soup Gratinee
SUBMITTED BY:
Jersey Tomato
PHOTO BY:
Sarah Jade
"About as good as it gets! This is the version of French Onion Soup that people seek when they go to restaurants. I have been making it for 30 years and it never fails to please. It makes an exquisite presentation, too!"
RECIPE RATING:
Read Reviews
(195)
Review/Rate This Recipe
PREP TIME
15 Min
COOK TIME
1 Hr
READY IN
1 Hr 15 Min
SERVINGS
(
Help
)
Servings
US
METRIC
INGREDIENTS (
Nutrition
)
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs fresh parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 thick slices French or Italian bread
8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices, room temperature
1/2 cup shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese, room temperature
4 pinches paprika
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DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.
Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.
Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slice Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the Asiago or mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.
Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. As it softens, the cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal. Serve immediately!
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REVIEWS
Reviewed on Sep. 12, 2006 by
Jersey Tomato
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Jersey Tomato
Sep. 12, 2006
Hi! Recipe creator/contributor here. Thanks for trying the onion soup and for all the thoughtful reviews. Just a couple of comments I thought might be helpful. The 1 teaspoon of salt in the beginning of the recipe cannot be omitted as it is necessary for the proper caramelization of the onions. However, at the conclusion of the simmering process, please be sure to taste the soup before deciding to add any more salt (or pepper). Also, the addition of balsamic vinegar at the end is very important--not only for taste--but also because there's a chemical in red onions that tends to turn the soup gray and cloudy, and the balsamic vinegar corrects that. Lastly, while my broiler does take 4-5 minutes to melt the cheese properly, that's probably because I place the baking sheet on a lower rack. Yours may take less time. Well, thanks again for all your kind comments... and, enjoy!
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36 users found this review helpful
Hi! Recipe creator/contributor here. Thanks for trying the onion soup and for all the...
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Reviewed on Feb. 24, 2006 by
JIM F.
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JIM F.
Feb. 24, 2006
This was the most incredible onion soup recipe we have ever tried. We followed the recipe exactly. .Make sure you cook the onions as suggested to almost a carmelized soft, syrupy, consistency. You may not need to adjust the salt in the end; the combination of beef and chicken broth and the Worcestershire and balsamic vinegar may be salty enough for many. The bottom line to this review, is if you want to really impress your family and friends with a onion soup recipe that is better than any restaurant recipe we have ever tried, USE THIS ONE! You will not be disappointed. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us.
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28 users found this review helpful
This was the most incredible onion soup recipe we have ever tried. We followed the recipe...
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Reviewed on Jul. 11, 2006 by AliciaGski
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AliciaGski
Jul. 11, 2006
One recommendation: I use croutons rather than sliced French bread. It is much easier than cutting through a thick piece of cheese-covered bread. Guests and family say they like that: it adds to the enjoyment and ease of eating without losing any visual appeal.
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21 users found this review helpful
One recommendation: I use croutons rather than sliced French bread. It is much easier than...
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Reviewed on Feb. 26, 2007 by
MSROOTZ
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MSROOTZ
Feb. 26, 2007
Excellent soup. I didn't read through the recipe first so I had to make 2 modifications. I had to use dried parsley and thyme. I used 1/2 tsp. parsley and 1/4 tsp. thyme and I only had enough swiss for one piece on top. Even with the modifications, we still rate this a 5. It has a deep full bodied flavor. Can't wait to try it again, but I will make sure I have the right amount of cheese and the fresh herbs.
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14 users found this review helpful
Excellent soup. I didn't read through the recipe first so I had to make 2 modifications. I...
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Reviewed on Jul. 17, 2006 by
IMVINTAGE
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IMVINTAGE
Jul. 17, 2006
This french onion soup has great depth of flavors!!! I pretty much stuck to the recipe except I used seasoned croutons instead of the bread & I omitted the mozzarella cheese as I didn't have any. I did miss the stringiness of the mozzarella ...gruyere has a wonderful flavor but it tends to just clump up. I did decrease the chicken broth some & used more beef (I used low sodium broths) & I aded a tsp. of beef base which really helped kick up the beefy flavor. This was a fairly hearty french onion soup, I think next time I might add more broth to thin it out some. The wine I used was a shiraz. A glass of the shiraz & a fresh salad was all the accompaniments it needed...thanks so much for a wonderful soup!
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13 users found this review helpful
This french onion soup has great depth of flavors!!! I pretty much stuck to the recipe except...
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Reviewed on Feb. 19, 2006 by JOHNHEAV
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JOHNHEAV
Feb. 19, 2006
A friend I was with yesterday had FO soup in one of our more upscale restruants, so I had a hankerin' to try it today. This recipe rendered a much-superior soup than she had! Easy and delicious!
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12 users found this review helpful
A friend I was with yesterday had FO soup in one of our more upscale restruants, so I had a...
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Reviewed on Jun. 28, 2006 by
Masty
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Masty
Jun. 28, 2006
I made this soup last night and HOLY WOW! It was fantastic! This is my second attempt at French Onion and I think my search is over. Even better than Panera and Atlanta Bread! Thanks so much!
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11 users found this review helpful
I made this soup last night and HOLY WOW! It was fantastic! This is my second attempt at...
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Reviewed on Jul. 12, 2006 by
4n20blackbirds
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4n20blackbirds
Jul. 12, 2006
This is really good soup! I made it per the directions but I don't eat beef, so used an equal mix of chicken and vege-table stocks. This soup tastes a lot like what you might order at a nicer restaurant. I do question the use of mozzerella and asiago cheeses - two Italian cheeses - in something that is so decidedly French. I personally was not a fan of the resulting taste and next time I will combine parts of this and my recipe, which calls for the use of Gruyere or true Emmental swiss (no substitutions). If desired, throw into the soup the rind of one hard French or Swiss-made cheese of your choice, doing so after removing kettle from flame to rest (about ten minutes). I also use sherry wine, not balsamic vinegar, because my grandmother always used this flavor in soups and casseroles. The sherry imparts a subtle sweet-smokey flavor that is a nice counterpoint to the Gruyere's mild tanginess. Remove cheese rind, and ladle the soup into bowls. Top with a 1/2 in. slice of dense, day-old, crusty french baguette that has been lightly toasted beforehand. Top with Gruyere swiss or Emmental and continue with recipe, broiling as directed. I found just 3 minutes in the broiler was enough. Keep an eye out for over cooking - there is nothing worse than the taste and smell of burnt cheese.
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10 users found this review helpful
This is really good soup! I made it per the directions but I don't eat beef, so used an equal...
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Reviewed on Jun. 13, 2006 by BUNNYSLUG
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