La Cucina #03 Red Onion Soup...

Red Onion Soup Gratinee

Makes 4 servings

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 60 minutes

Shopping List:

• 55 gr or 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 gr or ⅓ teaspoon salt
• 3 large red onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 1400 ml or 1 can 48 fl oz chicken broth
• 400 ml or 1 can 14 fl oz beef broth
• 120 ml or ½ cup red wine
• 15 ml or 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 15 ml or 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 [the real thing, not processed cheese squares]
• 60 gr or ½ cup shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese, room temperature
• 4 gr or 4 pinches paprika

TO MAKE:

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions.
3. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
4. Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot.
5. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot.
6. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Remove and discard the herbs.
8. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
9. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.
10. Preheat oven broiler or grill.
11. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides.
12. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.
13. Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet.
14. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup.
15. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slices of Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the Asiago or mozzarella cheese.
16. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.
17. Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.
18. As it softens, the cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal.
19. Serve immediately!

Note: 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.

ENJOY !

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 618
Total Fat: 35.9 g
Cholesterol: 114 mg
Sodium: 550 mg
Total Carbs: 39.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.2 g
Protein: 29.7 g

PDF of this recipe: 20120126-Red-Onion-Soup-Gratinee