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French Onion Soup Gratinee

SUBMITTED BY: Jersey Tomato      PHOTO BY: sweetiesmj

"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!"
PREP TIME  15 Min
COOK TIME  1 Hr
READY IN  1 Hr 15 Min
SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: 4 servings
    
About  scaling  and  conversions

INGREDIENTS

  • 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

DIRECTIONS

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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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The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 0 star rating.
Reviewed on Sep. 12, 2006 by Jersey Tomato
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!

26 users found this review helpful
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 0 star rating.
Reviewed on Feb. 24, 2006 by JIM F.
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.

20 users found this review helpful
The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 0 star rating.
Reviewed on Jul. 11, 2006 by AliciaGski
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.

18 users found this review helpful


 
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Recipe Submitter:

Jersey Tomato
Photo by Jersey Tomato
Cooking Level: Expert
Home Town: Titusville, New Jersey, USA
Living In: Lambertville, New Jersey, USA
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NUTRITION INFORMATION

Servings Per Recipe: 4

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 624

  • Total Fat: 38.5g
  • Cholesterol: 106mg
  • Sodium: 3244mg
  • Total Carbs: 36.6g
  •     Dietary Fiber: 4.4g
  • Protein: 30g

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