Vegetarian French Onion Soup

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Years Eve!

Lance and I enjoyed our concert at the Fiesta Bowl Block Party!

We got there a little before the Gin Blossoms came on – walked around a bit then waited for the concert to start. The whole block party was pretty crowded, but the stage where we were at was pretty empty so we got some spots really close to the stage.

The band put on a great show, and I had no idea they were from Tempe :)

This was the giant chip that they dropped at midnight, (we unfortunately were not there to see it since we were at a different stage for the concert) it looked so cheesy/cool that I had to take a picture.

The remainder of the weekend was pretty lazy – however we did go watch Young Adult at the AMC dine in theatre (our actual plan was to see Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but our tickets got messed up so this was our next best option). We also started a little project in our bedroom.

I think I’ll do some before and after's once its all finished :) We managed to paint the entire room/bathroom – start to finish in 8 hours.

French onion soup is relatively new on my list of soups I enjoy. When I was a vegetarian I never ate it since it’s almost always made with beef broth, but once I tried it I realized just how easy it is to make at home – and with whatever broth I chose. In this recipe I like the flavor of the vegetable broth (I recommend an organic one if you can find it) it’s a nice complement to the onions and other flavors in the soup. This soup does take a while to prepare so plan accordingly - for me this usually means enjoying a glass of wine while caramelizing onions ;)

The bread and cheese are what really make this soup so yummy to me – it’s the perfect comfort soup on a cold winter day.

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

 

Ingredients:

3 large onions, 1 red, 2 yellow

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Pinch of sugar

2 cloves of garlic

½ cup dry sherry

3 cups vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

½ tsp minced fresh thyme

Salt and pepper

4 slices of French bread, cut ¼ inch thick

4 slices of Gruyère cheese

 

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven melt butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Add the sugar continue cooking, stirring frequently, until richly colored and caramelized, 30 to 45 minutes. (You may need to increase the heat to medium to add some color at the end.)

Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, sherry, bay leaf and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf and discard.

To serve, preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into individual flameproof soup bowls. Place a slice of bread on top of each bowl and top with the cheese. Slide under the broiler about 6 inches from the heat element. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma