French Onion Soup

Someone posted a picture of a regular omnivore French Onion soup this morning. While I enjoyed the occasional bowl of French Onion Soup in restaurants before I went plant-based, that is an impossible idea these days because French Onion soups served in restaurants is almost always made with either beef broth, or chicken broth, or both. And most often, its loaded with Gruyere cheese. Since I'm interested really in consuming only onions and water (haha!), most restaurants, or even online recipes, don't cater to my tastes :) So I found a omnivore recipe and adapted it :) turned out great!!! 

Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman: French Onion Soup

Ingredients (Serves 4): 

1. 1 large Red Onion, julienned (about 2 cups)
2. 6 cups Water
3. 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
4. 5 tbsp Vegan Worcestershire Sauce (Annie's) 
5. 1 tbsp Miso (I used Barley Miso)
6. 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
7. 1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
8. Salt and Pepper, to taste
9. 8 half-inch rounds of plain baggette

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 . Line a heavy pot, like a dutch oven which you can move to the oven, with 1 cup of water and add 1 tbsp Garlic and julienned onion. Saute on medium heat until onions are translucent. Add a splash of water (about 1/2 cup if the onions look dry) and move the entire pot, with lid, to the preheated oven. Crack the lid just a tad to allow some steam to escape. This was a trick used by the Pioneer Woman that made it super easy to caramelize the onions slowly, to bring out their sweetness and color, without standing over the stove babysitting the onions. Leave the pot in the oven for about an hour. Remove the pot using heavy oven mitts. At this point, the onions should be caramelized to a deep golden brown. Transfer the pot to the stove on medium heat. In a bowl, whisk Worcestershire sauce, miso, vegetable base, Italian seasoning and 4 cups of water together and slowly add to the pot. Make sure that all the caramelized sugars on the sides of the pot are mixed in with the liquid. While the soup is finishing on the stove, line a cookie sheet with the baggette slices and toast (using the broiler setting) on medium heat until crispy and golden on both sides. Set aside to top off each bowl of soup.  Bring the soup to a boil, taste test for salt (remember the miso and Worcestershire sauce are both salty so don't add salt without tasting). To serve, ladle into serving bowls, top off with toasted baggettes, and freshly cracked black pepper. Enjoy!! 

My Assessment: My omni sister-in-law and step-son both had bowls of this soup today. I think it was a hit! I don't use any processed foods so I did not add any cheese. Feel free to top off with Daiya cheese if you like using it. If adding cheese, I'd return each serving bowl to the oven, under the broiler at a low setting for just a few minutes each to help melt the cheese before serving. Enjoy!!

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving*): Calories 50 (Fat Calories 3)
Total Fat 0.4 g; Carbohydrates 9.8 g; Fiber 1.4 g; Sugars 2.6 g; Protein 2.0 g

*Nutrition facts are provided without the toasted baggette rounds as calorie content can vary depending upon the source bakery.

If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my Recipe Index for more Whole-Food, Plant-Based, No-Added-Oil recipes. You can also like Rugrat Chow! on Facebook. Thanks!