Baked French Onion Soup

 

Don't even try to find this one on the menu at Applebee'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 A

pplebee'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. 

 

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

 

1. Add 3 tablespoons oil to a large soup pot or saucepan

 over medium/high heat. Add the sliced onions and sauté 

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 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, 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.

Makes 10 servings.