Recipe: Vegetarian French Onion Soup

[teddywolf]

So. One of my very-long-term projects, long-term only in terms of how long I have procrastinated in actually getting to it, was to attempt to make a good vegetarian French onion soup au gratin. I picked up the mugs I intended on using around three years ago, and while they look more like chowder cups than onion soup crocks they looked like they'd work well. Yeah, I procrastinate sometimes. Today I was busy with errands but my mind went to the broth issue.

For those of you who didn't know, which might be several, your standard French onion soup and various derivatives almost always use a beef stock or broth. The better ones almost always use a little wine, like a dry sherry. I've had a few vegetarian versions but they usually weren't satisfying. Even the decent vegetarian ones weren't truly excellent. I needed a broth that would have good character: good flavor reminiscent of a beef broth, good color, and all without any beef. I worried about a lack of gelatin, found in good beef stock, but I wasn't going hunting for vegetarian gelatin as I lacked the time. I figured I could add a little another time if the flavor worked right.

While thinking about it in the car I realized that roasted vegetables would help not only with the color but the flavor. The key was what the main vegetable should be. Mushrooms would be good but shouldn't be the main note. Tomatoes are standard in many vegetable broths but its the wrong flavor for the main veg. Then my mind went to carrots. They're flavorful, a bit sweet and would add the body needed. I did not add onions to the broth because the onions would do their work later.

I made my broth, caramelized some onions using canola and butter along with both water and dry sherry for deglazing, toasted some of a French baguette and used Swiss and Havati for the cheeses.

The broth:
1.5lbs cut peeled carrots
2 stalks celery
1 parsnip, cut and washed
6 small portabella mushrooms, washed
2 small tomatoes (equal to about 1 plum tomato)
1 small red pepper
2 quarts water
Salt
6 peppercorns
1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
Aleppo pepper
small pinch Tarragon leaves

Roast all the vegetables at 375 degrees for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half if you're comfortable with that. If the carrots are on a separate tray you can roast them for longer and add the rest of the vegetables to the water first. Add the spices to the water, in a teaball for easy straining if you want to save the vegetables, or just straight if you don't care. Bring the water to a boil and add the vegetables; reduce to a simmer when they are all in.

I simmered the broth for about 3 hours, adding more water when needed. I ended up with perhaps a quart or so of broth. In the meantime I caramelized my onions - it worked out to about one large onion peeled, halved and sliced, for two large cups. I, err, made too many onions - maybe I can make some baked potatoes for them. I added about one large not-heaping cooking spoon of onions to each cup.

After the onions went in I added one shot (2 Tbsp) of dry sherry to each mug, then strained about 8-10 oz or so of broth into the cup. The baguette I used was too small for a single slice to cover the top so I used two slices per cup. Each cup then got two slices of Swiss and two slices of Havarti. Hey, I love cheese and I figured better a little much than too little.

The cups went in the oven on a half sheet pan, foil-lined; the oven was set to 450. It took about 15-20 minutes to brown the cheese. Next time I'd like a higher temperature for less time but I was not sure how the mugs would handle the heat.

I've been wanting French onion soup for months, vegetarian or not. This batch really hit the spot! I used a number of Costco and farmstand ingredients, which helps with the prices. I'd say the ingredients cost about $5 on the high end for the parts used for the two cups (I got more and paid more, obviously) - and I still have onions and broth for one more cup.

This is the very first time I have ever attempted a French onion soup and I did so without (today) looking at any recipes. While my vegan friends might sigh about the cheese and butter, my vegetarian and Kosher friends should enjoy. And, in truth I did not miss the gelatin.

Comments

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

My own answers to your questions go something like this:
1) A good bowl for the oven is one that says it is oven-safe, preferably also broiler safe (mine are not broiler safe), with a relatively wide mouth. Standard onion soup crocks at most decent restaurants look like a miniature Boston baked beans pot, sans the top. The important points are not too tall (it should be no taller than it is wide, at most) and not too narrow (wide enough for a couple of slices from a thin French baguette to float on top). If you get a bread that is thicker that's fine. You can always cut down the bread to fit your crock. My bread was sliced a bit under an inch thick.

2) Aleppo pepper is a somewhat spicy red pepper. I say somewhat because it is not immediately up-front spicy (more of a creeping-up spice kick) and it is not quite as spicy as crushed red pepper flakes. Its not required, but I would suggest a modicum of red pepper spice of some sort, like the ones browngirl mentioned - preferably the type you can keep in a tea ball or otherwise strain out.
I kept away from smoky pepper and spices this time around and am likely to keep on doing so. I like smoky flavors but they aren't a part of a traditional French onion soup. People who want to add a hint of smoky flavor should feel free to do so.
For all that Aleppo is a bit spicy the amount I added did not add any heat, just some flavor undercurrents. I forgot to mention I added a very small pinch of sugar to the broth as well.