Filed under: Vegan Entrees | Tags: french batard, french onion, soup, vegan, vegetarian, winter
Ok, if there are any of you readers left… you must all be soup nerds like me. I haven’t posted something requiring more than three teeth in months. Regardless, I can’t help but share every new soup I try because there is simply nothing better when it is snowing outside & the wind chill is hovering around zero degrees. This is not only the first time I have made french onion soup, but also the first time I have ever had a steaming bowl all of my own. I used to sneak a spoonful of melty cheese or a soppy crouton from fellow eaters bowls if they ordered some, but I was never interested in the half moons of onion floating below. I never liked onions growing up (and still won’t go near a raw one) but within the last two years I have come to absolutely adore the sizzling scent and sweet caramelization of onions sauteed in a pan with a little oil. When I found out french onion soup was one of Erin’s favorite foods, I thought I certainly needed to give it a try during these dreary, cold months. P.S. Let’s all just mourn the loss of well lit photos now that it gets dark at 5pm.
I was re-reading through a cookbook that I purchased on my first trip to Chicago two summers ago entitled “The Chicago Diner Cookbook.” The Chicago Diner is a landmark vegan/vegetarian restaurant in Boystown, a notably gay friendly neighborhood of Chicago. I went to the diner during my trip and had a vegetarian reuben sandwich & the best vegan strawberry milkshake in the history of the world. I noticed the cookbook displayed on a shelf in the diner only because I thought the cover was so highly unattractive. Once I asked to see a copy I flipped through the pages, all the more disgusted with the mediocre layout/design/font choices therein, but was absolutely stoked with the selection of recipes. I reminded myself to not judge a cookbook by its ugly cover and purchased it as my souvenir from Chi Town.
Two years later I’m finally glad I bought it. I tried a few recipes during my initial excitement about it, but my novice cooking knowledge led me to use the wrong end of the leeks in the potato & leek soup… and the homemade polenta was just…. not as exciting as the kind in the shrink wrap tube. So now that I’m desperate for new & exciting cold weather cooking… I began leafing through and remembered why I bought this book in the first place. First stop: French Onion Soup… next on the menu, Vegan “Beef” (seitan) Stroganoff… JUST. CAN’T. WAIT.
French Onion Soup (adapted from The Chicago Diner Cookbook)
3 T EVOO or Canola oil
3 large Spanish onions, cut into half-moon slices
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
Any combination of vegetable broth and water equaling 6 cups/1 1/2 quarts (I did 1 quart broth, 1/2 quart water)
2 T flour (for thickening)
3 T dark miso (I used red)
1/4 cup tamari (soy sauce)
salt and pepper to taste
1 loaf french batard or other crusty bread
2-3 slices per person of vegan mozzarella (or if using real cheese, provolone or gruyere)In a large dutch oven or soup pot, add the oil, onions, and herbs. Cook, stirring often, for about 15 minutes (or until all of the onions have caramelized.) Add your flour before adding broth to avoid it clumping. Add your stock/water and stir to combine. Let simmer 15 minutes. While simmering, preheat oven to 350, or prep it to use your broiler. Slice your french loaf or other bread in 1 inch thick slices (or dice into 1 or 1 1/2 inch cubes and drizzle with oil on a baking sheet – bake for about 5 minutes or until golden.) We did both. I did thick slices for our initial meal and made croutons for easy lunch travel.
Once done simmering, remove two cups of broth (its okay if onions get in there too!) and add miso, mixing well with a spoon or whisk until it dissolves. Add back to soup. Add your tamari, salt and pepper. If you use regular sodium tamari, add less salt. I always use reduced sodium so I can salt to my own liking.
Fill your bowls (oven safe ones!) 3/4 full. Soak both sides of your slice of bread before placing on top of your soup. Cover with cheese slices. Bake or broil until the cheese is golden & bubbly. I put the bowls on a small baking sheet to make the oven part easier.
Now, what is better than those strings of melty “cheese” as you slurp your soup?
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I love french onion soup. Your photos are beautiful. You need to begin outlining your own cookbook. Nothing makes me happier than beautiful pictures and good commentary. Love the “three teeth” comment.
Comment by Sheila December 14, 2010 @ 6:06 pmhaha, thanks! I wish I could catch some good natural light… but I think that’ll have to wait til March or April.
Comment by kebrock December 14, 2010 @ 9:03 pm[...] finally! Something not soup! Not that I didn’t love the french onion soup, the curried sweet potato & black bean stew, oh and then there was that delicious lentil soup, [...]
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