French Onion Soup

Ahhh, French Onion soup, my favorite vegetarian mistake. I loved this so much in my omnivore days that I just assumed since it was an onion soup that it had to be vegetarian. Boy, was I wrong. I was just three months into being vegetarian when on of my coworkers informed me that French onion soup is made with beef broth! Imagine my horror, especially since I hadn’t eaten beef in nearly a decade. But hey, we all make mistakes, and from that day forward the French onion soup and I parted ways. But now here we are, reunited…and it feels so good (sing along!). This recipe is contributed by Alicia C. Simpson from her book Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food (The Experiment, 2009).

Serves: 4

• ¼ cup nonhydrogenated margarine
• 3 medium white or yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Dash of pepper
• 2 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• 5½ cups vegetable stock
• ½ cup red wine or dry sherry wine
• 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 1 French baguette
• Vegan mozzarella, sliced thin

Preheat the oven to 450ºF.

Melt the margarine in a large Dutch oven or stockpot. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 25 minutes or until soft and caramelized, stirring often. About 15 minutes into cooking the onions add the garlic, sugar, and pepper.

When the onions are caramelized, stir in the flour until well blended. Stir in the vegetable stock, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Cut four 1-inch slices of baguette and toast until just slightly brown.

Place the four ovenproof bowls on a foil-covered baking sheet and ladle in the soup. Place 1 toasted baguette slice on top of each bowl of soup and cover with mozzarella.

Bake for 10 minutes or just until cheese has begun to melt. Conversely, you can also place the soup under the broiler until cheese is melted, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Visit Alicia Simpson at her web site.

• Here are more Warming Winter Soups.
• Explore other delicious vegan soup recipes here at Soulful Soups.