Onions

[farnfam]

Hi Foodie Family,
A friend just gave me a bag of onions and I had already bought a bag. I took them anyway cuz I thought I'd like to make onion soup. So c'mon you guys, teach me how to make it. Give me all your favorite ways to prepare Onion Soup with all your helpful hints and instructions. I've never made it before. And also, is it true you can chop onions up and freeze them just like that??
Cis

[esgunn]

Yes you can freeze them chopped - I keep them and bell peppers in the freezer.

Billy had a crock pot recipe for carmelizing onions...Maybe he will post it again??? Please Billy?

[Roxanne 21]

Onion soup is one of our all time favorite soups. My favorite recipe is one of Julia Childs'---I'll dig up the recipe for you and post later during my day. OOOOOHHH---I can smell those onions caramelizing now----

[Roxanne 21]

SOUPE Á L’OIGNON
(Onions Soup)

The onions for an onion soup need a long, slow cooking in butter and oil, then a long, slow simmering in stock for them to develop the deep, rich flavor which characterizes a perfect brew. You should therefore count on 2 ½ hours at least from start to finish. Though the preliminary cooking in butter requires some watching, the actual simmering can proceed almost unattended. The caramelizing will most likely be much easier with Billy’s crock pot suggestion---I have got to try that!!!

For 6-8 servings

1 ½ pounds or about 5 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions
3 TBS butter
1 TBS oil
A heavy bottomed, 4-qt covered saucepan

Cook the onions slowly with the butter and oil in the covered saucepan for about 15 minutes.

1 tsp salt
¼ tsp sugar (helps the onions to brown)

Uncover, raise heat to moderate, and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook for 30-40 minutes stirring frequently, until the onions have turned an even, deep, golden brown.

3 TBS flour

Sprinkle in the flour and stir 3 minutes

2 qts boiling brown stock, canned beef bouillon, or 1 qt of boiling water and 1 qt of stock or bouillon
½ cup dry white vermouth or dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Off heat, blend in the boiling liquid. Add the wine and season to taste. Simmer partially covered for 30-40 minutes or more, skimming occasionally. Correct seasoning.

Set aside uncovered until ready to serve. Then reheat to a simmer.

3TBS cognac
Rounds of hard-toasted French bread
1-2 cups grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese

Just before serving, stir in the cognac. Pour into a soup tureen or soup cups over the bread rounds, pass the cheese separately.


This is the final step I use:

ONION SOUP GRATINEED WITH CHEESE

The preceding onion soup
A fireproof tureen or casserole or individual soup pots
2 oz Swiss cheese cut into slivers
1 TBS grated raw onion
12-16 rounds of hard toasted French bread rounds
1 ½ cups grated Swiss, or Swiss and Parmesan cheese
1 TBS olive oil or melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring the soup to a boil and pour into the tureen or soup pots. Stir in the slivered cheese and grated onion. Float the rounds of toast on top of the soup, and spread the grated cheese over it. Sprinkle with the oil or butter. Bake for 20 minutes in the oven, then set for a minute or two under a preheated broiler to brown the top lightly. Serve immediately.


HARD TOASTED FRENCH BREAD---CROUTONS

12-16 slices French bread cut ¾ to inch thick

Place the bread in one layer in a roasting pan and bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for about half an hour, until it is thoroughly dried out and lightly browned.

Olive oil or beef drippings
A cut clove of garlic

Halfway through the baking, each side may be basted with a tsp of olive oil or beef drippings; and after baking, each piece may be rubbed with cut garlic.


YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Volume I
By Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle, Julia Child

[Roxanne 21]

SPLENDID SOUPS RECIPE
Page 21

Classic French Onion Soup

Makes 9 ½ cups

Total time: about 1 ½ hours

2 each yellow, white, and red onions, sliced (12 cups)
1 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup dry sherry
3 TBS all purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups beef broth
Bundle of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
8 slices baguette, toasted (1/2 inch thick)
1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
½ cup Parmesan, shredded


Sweat onion and garlic in oil, covered, over medium heat in a large pot for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook 40 minutes, or until onions are caramelized, stirring occasionally.

Add wine and sherry, then increase heat to high. Cook until wine evaporates, stirring often.

Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broths, thyme, salt and pepper; bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes more. Meanwhile, preheat broiler to High.

Toast baguette slices on a baking sheet under the broiler. Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls, arrange on the baking sheet, then top with a toasted baguette. Sprinkle with some of the cheeses, then broil 1-2 minutes, or until cheese melts.


Has anyone made this version yet???

The basics are sort of there. Time is shorter.

[cjs]

I normally make Julia & Simone's, also - our favorite.

[Lorraine]

I'm trying to find a recipe for a creamy onion soup. We had one in Montreal that was fabulous.

[Roxanne 21]

I just saw one of those in my travels for onion soup---darn, wish I could remember---will look again and see what I come up with---

[bjcotton]

The recipe for caramelizing onions in the crockpot is easy, put butter/oil in the bottom of the pot and put in your onions, sliced or chopped. Turn the pot on low and let cook all day...voila, caramelized onions. You don't need much of the butter/oil, just to cover the bottom of the pot. If you're around, give it a stir once in a while, if not, just forget it, they'll caramelize just fine.

[bjcotton]

If you google Crockpot Caramelized Onions, you'll get a bunch of hits. One calls for 1 stick of butter [not margarine] another calls for 1/4 to 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 to 1/2 cup oil. One says to slice the onions 1/8-1/4 inch thick another says to put the onions in whole, just peeled and the ends cut off. They all agree to cook them 12-14 hours, then cool and skim the butter off the top for use in sauteing other things; then use the broth made by caramelizing the onions and letting the onions cook to a dark mahogany color. I did it with sliced onions and they were deliciously sweet. The recipes recommend using sweet onions, I didn't. You can fill the whole crockpot [mine's 6 qt] and it will still work well, then freeze what you don't use. I froze them in 1 cup batches and vacuum packaged them.