Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Making a truly great French Onion Soup takes time – about 1 1/2 hours. If you are looking for a quick fix you won’t find it here. My soup is full of amazing flavor that can only be achieved by cooking the onions slowly. It is worth it and really all you need to do is stir them about every 20 minutes or so. It is Vegetarian, VERY low sodium and is truly delicious.

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Ingredients

8-10 medium sized onions thinly sliced, white or sweet are preferable. NO red onions.

1/4 teaspoon sugar

3 Tablespoons flour

6-8 cups Vegetable Broth (or more, depending on your broth-onion ratio preference. I prefer lots of onions)

1 teaspoon salt, (optional)

1/4 tsp garlic powder, (optional)

1/2 cup dry white wine, (optional)

Lots of pepper to taste

Directions:

Add 1/2 cup of veggie broth to a very large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, toss to coat and cover the pot. Heat on very low heat (covered) for 15 minutes. This is called “sweating” which draws the moisture out of the onions, helps to break apart the rings and enhances the conversion process from starch to sugar which is the building block for a richly flavored soup.

After 15 minutes, raise the heat a bit, uncover the pot, and stir in the salt and sugar. The sugar will help to caramelize the onions. Cook the onions, uncovered, stirring them about every 20 minutes or so, until they are a golden in color. (The heat should be on a low to medium setting). The onions make their own juice and you probably won’t need to add more broth, but later in the cooking process if you notice the pot is dry, add a touch more broth to keep them from burning. This will take anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes.

{Above, from top left to right – onions before sweating, then after, color after about 45 minutes, and lastly color after 60 minutes with flour added}

After they have reached a golden brown color, add the flour, stir constantly and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Then add optional wine and garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.  Add the stock, about a half cup at a time, stirring in between each addition.  Bring to a simmer, and cook on very low heat for another 20- 30 minutes.

Here is where we sway from being gluten free and vegetarian, but of course all of this is optional. Take a slice of crusty sourdough bread and place in the bottom of your ramekin or soup bowl. Ladle the French Onion Soup on top. Add a slice or two of provolone cheese and place under the broiler for about 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. If you are gluten free and/or dairy free – you can skip this process (this is what I did) and just eat the soup as is.

Enjoy!

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Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Author: Gay Van Beek for Canterbury Cottage Designs

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 8-10 medium sized onions thinly sliced white or sweet are preferable. NO red onions.
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 6-8 cups Vegetable Broth or more, depending on your broth-onion ratio preference, I like a more onion-based soup
• 1 teaspoon salt optional
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder optional
• 1/2 cup dry white wine optional

Instructions

Directions:

1. Add 1/2 cup of veggie broth to a very large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, toss to coat and cover the pot. Heat on very low heat (covered) for 15 minutes. This is called “sweating” which draws the moisture out of the onions, helps to break apart the rings and enhances the conversion process from starch to sugar which is the building block for a richly flavored soup.
2. After 15 minutes, raise the heat a bit, uncover the pot, and stir in the salt and sugar. The sugar will help to caramelize the onions. Cook the onions, stirring them about every 20 minutes or so, until they are a golden in color. (The heat should be on a low to medium setting). The onions make their own juice and you probably won’t need to add more broth, but later in the cooking process if you notice the pot is dry, add a touch more broth to keep them from burning. This will take anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes.
3. After they have reached a golden brown color, add the flour, stir constantly and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Then add optional wine. Add the stock, about a half cup at a time, stirring in between each addition. Bring to a simmer, and cook on very low heat for another 20- 30 minutes.
4. Here is where we sway from being gluten free and vegetarian, but of course all of this is optional. Take a slice of crusty sourdough bread and place in the bottom of your ramekin or soup bowl. Ladle the French Onion Soup on top. Add a slice or two of provolone cheese and place under the broiler for about 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. If you are gluten free and/or dairy free – you can skip this process (this is what I did) and just eat the soup as is.