French Onion Soup November 8, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Food & Drink, Vegetarian Recipes.trackback
In restaurants, French Onion Soup is not always a vegetarian entrée (despite the vegetarian sounding name).
When we make it at home, we substitute vegetable broth (or vegetarian bouillon cubes) for the beef broth. Even then, purists would turn their nose up at the anchovies in the Worcestershire Sauce.
We never turn up our noses at this soup.
French Onion Soup
4 onions, sliced thin
2 Tbsp. butter
6-8 cups vegetable broth or bouillon
2 tsp. Worcestershire
Cracked black pepper
Toasted French Bread
Grated Cheese (Swiss, Gruyère, Muenster, or Mozzarella)
Cook onions in butter over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes until soft and translucent.
Add 6-8 cups vegetable broth or bouillon, Worcestershire Sauce, and fresh cracked black pepper.
Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Ladle soup into oven proof bowls. Top with a slice of toasted french bread and sprinkle bread with grated cheese or top bread with a slice of cheese (swiss, Gruyère, Muenster, or mozzarella).
Brown under broiler for 3 minutes until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly.
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A few months ago, Tammy tossed out a tasty tip: carmelize onions in a slow cooker . . . whenever you’re Oniondated!
This morning, I used the slow cooker to make Onion Soup. I cooked the onions on high for an hour before adding the broth and simmering for another hour.
Next time, I might give the onions two hours before adding the broth.
Aah . . . that’s better!
For more vegetarian ideas and recipe links: A Month of Meatless Meals
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Susanna posted the 8 Finalists from the Halloweensie Contest on Tuesday morning . . . and I’m in the running!
If you want to vote, click this link and Vote for your Favorite!
They’re all in one place . . . so it’s one stop shopping. No clicking back and forth between blogs. Simple, right? You can vote while your onions sweat.
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Spirit Lights The Way 
Reblogged this on Yummy Foody Finds.
Thanks, nuvofelt. I’m going to check out Yummy Food Finds . . . just as soon as I inhale a bowl of onion soup. 😀
Yum. We like onion soup too. I’m going to try it soon. (Just reblogged so I don’t forget)
It’s super easy and it makes the house smell DELICIOUS! 😀
I love french onion soup, never had it with the vegetable broth substituted but I imagine it’s just as yummy!
Either way is good. Especially with good bread and gooey cheese!
Even when we ate meat, I preferred vegetarian bouillon as a base because beef broth can overpower sweet sweated onions.
I just watched Julia Child(!) make this, and she added a bit of olive oil to the butter and a bit of vermouth to the broth, before simmering ~ that program gave me a taste for this, and your post only reinforces it!
Hmmm – do I smell a slicing and cooking session coming on? 🙂
The olive oil allows you to cook the onions at a slightly higher temperature . . . and is better for your heart.
I’m not a fan of vermouth, so I wouldn’t toss that into the mix, but a splash of white wine might be interesting to try.
Even though the onions made me CRY, I forgave them . . . as I gobbled them up. 😀
It occurs to me that she also offered ‘brandy’ as a possible soupcon – but not much of any of these: a Tbsp. or 2 in a pot for 6-8 folks.
White wine, red wine vinegar, maybe even balsamic? Worth a try!
All fun things to experiment with . . . I might try a splash of each, one at a time, in an individual bowl, rather than running the risk of “contaminating” the entire pot with something that doesn’t “marry” well with the soup.
But I like it fine without any alcohol at all.
Lovely stuff – I find a couple of extra Onions and a table spoon of redwine vinegar can add to the flavour 🙂
Plenty of room for more onions in the pot! I bet red wine vinegar would add a bit of depth. Thanks, Martin.
Nice thought on the slow cooker! I just bought a little one (2 quarts) with the thought that I can throw stuff in overnight and pop it in my lunch the next day. Will have to give onion soup (sans wonderful broiled cheese) a spin.
When we couldn’t broil cheese, we would toss some grated cheese into the soup just before served to melt it. Still good. Not as pretty.
Have fun with the slow cooker. I’ve had mine since we married 28 years ago. It does a great job on things like soup, chili, and stews . . . especially when you’re not in the mood to watch a pot.
Like in the middle of the night. When you’d rather be sleeping.
I’ll try the slow cooker tip Nancy. I often put the cheese into the soup to melt it – just as good but not as pretty as you say. 🙂
Making it on the stovetop is faster ~ about an hour. But it requires a bit more tending. I will definitely make it in the slow cooker again. It was nice to be able to go off and do something else while it cooked.
We love the cheese broiled until bubbly . . . but melting it into the soup is easier if you don’t want to turn on the broiler.
Again from Julia Child: she did both! – melted cheese into the pot, then heated the stringy cheese on top of the croutons in the oven.
Oh, interesting! Thanks for sharing that idea, Karen.
French Onion Soup…yummmm! My very favorite type of soup, especially when it is the authentic kind with the cheese baked on the top and running crustily down the sides. 🙂 🙂 Thanks for what looks like a great recipe for it…I also make it vegetarian. With the colder weather coming (well, maybe not for you, Nancy), soup makes a great meal…and homemade is definitely best!!!
It’s pretty chilly here at the moment . . . much colder than normal for this time of year. Soup for lunch was nice . . . with a combo of mozzarella and swiss. Yum.
Yum!
Good stuff, eh?
I haven’t had French Onion Soup in years! Famous(long gone dept. store chain) used to serve it in their Tea Room and my Mom used to take me there. It was a special treat.
Sounds like a lovely tradition, Pix.
That picture looks delicious. I’ve never made soup, but I might try this recipe! I think you’ve also inspired me to go make breakfast! 😉
It’s easy, delicious, and onions are so good for us. Enjoy!
That looks great Nancy!
Onion soup is a perennial favorite . . . simple deliciousness.
I don’t understand why so many restaurants use beef broth for French onion soup. My mom has never used anything but vegetable or chicken broth for it.
And some of them reduce the beef broth to concentrate its flavor so that it overpowers the onions. I’ve stopped ordering it out because it’s such a crap shoot.