Baked French Onion
Soup
Don't even
try to find this one on the menu at Apple bee's, because it isn't there; though
it's the most popular soup served each day at this huge restaurant chain. This is the first of several big-time soup
clones we'll unveil here in the next few weeks to help get you through the cold
winter months. And they're all a cinch to make. Just be sure you have some
oven-safe soup bowls for this one, since we'll have to broil it a bit before
serving. Under the gooey melted provolone of the original version you get from Apple bee's is a unique round crouton that's made from bread similar to a
hamburger bun. So that's exactly what we'll use in our clone.
Requirements:
3
tablespoons vegetable oil
6 medium
white onions, sliced
8 cups beef
broth (Swanson is best)
1 cup water
2 1/2
teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon
garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon
ground black pepper
5 plain
hamburger buns
10 slices
provolone cheese
10 teaspoons
shredded Parmesan cheese
Method:
1. Add 3
tablespoons oil to a large soup pot or saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the
sliced onions and saute for 20 minutes until the onions begin to soften and
start to become translucent. You don't want them to brown.
2. Add the
beef broth, water, salt, garlic powder and black pepper to the pan and bring
mixture to a boil. When soup begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45
minutes.
3. To make
the croutons cut off the top half of each top of the hamburger bun so that the
bread is the same thickness as the bottom half of each bun. Throw the tops
away. Now you should have 10 round pieces of bread -- 5 bottom buns, and 5 top
buns with the tops cut off. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the bread in the
oven directly on the rack and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until each piece is
golden brown and crispy. Set these croutons aside until you need them.
4. When the
soup is done, spoon about 1 cup into an oven-safe bowl. Float a crouton on top
of the soup, and then place a slice of provolone cheese on top of the crouton.
Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of shredded Parmesan cheese over the provolone.
5. Place the
bowl into your oven set to high broil. Broil the soup for 5 to 6 minutes or
until the cheese is melted and starting to brown (you may need to broil longer
if you are making more than one bowl at a time). Sprinkle an additional 1/2
teaspoon of shredded Parmesan cheese over the top of the soup and serve. Repeat
process to prepare remaining servings.
Tags: soup
recipe, soup, onion soup, spicy soup
