Best Old San Francisco Steakhouses French Onion Soup Recipes

OLD SAN FRANCISCO STEAKHOUSE'S FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large heavy pot over moderate heat and add the onions, separating the rings with a fork. Cover and sauté onions, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Raise the heat to medium high and cook, stirring often, until the onions are very soft and a deep golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Add beef stock, chicken stock, sherry, brown sugar, pepper, thyme, parsley, paprika and scallions. Simmer for 10 minutes, or longer, if desired. To serve, pour soup into warmed bowls, and top with croutons and Swiss cheese.
• To clarify butter: Melt butter in a heavy pan over low heat. Skim off froth and carefully pour clear liquid into another container, being careful to leave the milky residue behind.
• Recipe can be halved or doubled.
• At the restaurant we served these in onion bowls -- or very large yellow onions with the root cut off and the insides mostly scraped out(this can be used in the soup) with an ice cream scoop. After toping them with croutons and cheese they were placed under the broiler until bubbling.

CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons oil and butter over medium heat. Add onions; cook and stir until softened, 10-13 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown, 30-40 minutes. Add minced garlic; cook 2 minutes longer., Stir in wine. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add broth, pepper and salt; return to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. , Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet; brush both sides with remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Bake until toasted, 3-5 minutes on each side. Rub toasts with halved garlic. , To serve, place twelve 8-oz. broiler-safe bowls or ramekins on baking sheets; place 2 toasts in each. Ladle with soup; top with cheese. Broil 4 in. from heat until cheese is melted.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a large stockpot on medium-high heat, saute the onions with the butter and bay leaf for 20 minutes, until the onions turn a rich golden brown color. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and brandy and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer uncovered for 15 more minutes.
• Add the beef and veal stocks plus salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, taste for salt and pepper, and serve hot with grated Parmesan.

RESTAURANT-STYLE FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Cook and stir onions, garlic, salt, black pepper, and thyme until onions are soft and brown, about 30 minutes. Pour in red wine and sherry; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until you can no longer smell alcohol cooking off, about 15 more minutes.
• Sprinkle onion mixture with flour and stir until coated; cook for 10 minutes. Pour in broth, stir to blend in flour, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) while soup is simmering. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.
• Toast the baguette slices in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, turning the bread over halfway through cooking. Remove toast and set aside.
• Set an oven rack about 8 inches from the heat source and turn on the oven's broiler.
• Ladle soup into 6 oven-proof crocks, filling them about 3/4 full. Place 1 or 2 bread slices into the bowls and top each with a slice of Swiss cheese and a slice of provolone. Carefully place filled crocks onto a sturdy baking sheet.
• Broil soup until the cheese is browned and bubbling, 3 to 4 minutes.

CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• To caramelize the onions, in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions, leeks, and shallot. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with sugar, and cook, stirring as needed to keep the onions from sticking, until the onions are melting and soft, golden brown, and beginning to caramelize, 30 to 45 minutes.
• To prepare the soup, sprinkle the flour over the onions, and stir to coat. Add the sherry, stock, and thyme and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, for about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the broiler. To serve, ladle hot soup into 6 ovenproof bowls. Arrange the bowls on a baking sheet. Place 1 or 2 slices of baguette over each bowl of soup. Top each bowl with 1/2 cup grated cheese so it covers the baguette slices. Broil until the cheese is melted and crusty brown around the edges. (Watch carefully so the bread doesn't burn.) Garnish with the chives. Serve immediately.
• Sherry is a fortified wine from the town of Jerez de la Frontera, in the Andalusia region of Spain. Sherries can range in flavor from sweet to dry, and are served either at room temperature or chilled. Sherry is an excellent apéritif and adds a lively punch in cooking, where it is typically added as a finish for soups.