Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Vegan Tuesdays -- French Onion Soup



I had a vegetable bin full of mildly wrinkled onions that needed using up immediately. Onion soup! I've been making onion soup for years; it's one of Dave's favorites. The key to a delicious onion soup is caramelizing the onions until they are golden brown. This is not a fast process; I think I cooked my onions over low-medium heat for well over an hour. You really need that golden color to give flavor to the soup. The other key to delicious soup is using really good stock/broth--homemade or the best store-bought.

I stopped using a recipe for onion soup years ago, but here are the basics. Slice up your onions and saute them in a little bit of olive oil until they are extremely soft and golden brown. Add veggie stock and a splash of white wine. Cook the soup for at least 30 minutes, until it thickens a bit and the flavors marry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cooked this way the onions become mild tasting and very sweet--super delicious!

Here's a link to a basic French onion soup recipe:http://www.examiner.com/x-1630-Atlanta-Food-Examiner~y2009m3d3-French-Onion-Soup-recipe-full-of-rich-flavor



Here's the non-vegan part of the post. Blame Dave...
I usually just drink onion soup out of a mug, but Dave likes his version gussied up with bread and melted cheese. For him, I added a slice of rye bread to the top of the soup, and some grated Swiss cheese. As I am broiler-phobic, I baked the soup in a very low oven for just a few minutes until the cheese melted.



I am getting caught up on reading your sweet comments, and commenting on all the wonderful blogs I subscribe to, so be patient with me, please. I had six hours worth of tests done on Monday at the hospital, so hopefully I'll get all the results by the end of this week or early next week.

15 comments:

  1. I have to side with Dave on this one, Michele. Although good plain, onion soup begs for a crouton and cheese, please!
    Sending good vibes your way for good results. :-)

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  2. I've been looking for a great onion soup recipe and this looks like it! I love the no recipe element. I love cheese so that last photo looks fantastic!

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  3. This is Phil's favorite soup. Marisa even likes it! Hope you are feeling better and hoping for good results as well.

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  4. This really really looks delicious.

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  5. Oh i'm with Dave too, i would want it with cheeeeezzzze!

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  6. You know what? I've never had french onion soup in my life. I love onions. I'll have to try it.

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  7. I personally don't like onion soup but you made it look so good I might have been tempted to try it.
    Your dad loves onion soup, he would like the cheese and croutons (I think). Hope your tests come back soon so they can help with your back pain. :)

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  8. I love French Onion Soup and have enjoyed making it as well. Thanks for the inspiration here! I must do it again soon! It looks so delicious!!

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  9. Oh Michelle everything looks great- hope for all the best results for you.
    Fingers, toes and paws all crossed.
    xox

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  10. i LOVE french onion soup - this looks great!

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  11. It was vegan Tuesday yesterday and I was thinking of you. Hope your well : )

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  12. Now I'm craving french onion soup. Although I do like mine with the bread and cheese.

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  13. Thank you for all the lovely, sweet comments! I'm glad to be back in my kitchen (and in front of the computer!)

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  14. that looks fantastic! i love french onion soup but i haven't made it for a really long time. i used to make it with beef stock, but you've encouraged me to try it the vegan way (or at least veggie, i may not be able to resist the cheese)

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  15. Thanks for commenting! The veggie stock works really well; I hope you enjoy it!

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