“That’s How I got my Nickname..Frenchie”- French Onion Soup with Garlic Crouton

Growing up, I remember going to birthday parties where the parents would serve the kids chicken fingers, hamburgers and hotdogs. And then there would be me, sitting with my hamburger bun filled with lettuce, ketchup and potato chips. The mothers would say, “Oh, she’s vegetarian.” As if I was some strange hippie child.

This happened a lot through my childhood. At camp cookouts, I would find myself eating PB&J while the other kids were eating the “normal” burgers and hotdogs. Or at elementary school, kids would go through the lunch line for taco day, filling their taco shells with meat and cheese. Then, I was the one whose mother had to come in to ask the lunch lady just to give me extra cheese, because I was vegetarian.

Let’s just say, as much as I loved being brought up as a vegetarian, I did experience a little bit of food envy over the past 20 something years.

One dish that I’ve always salivated over was french onion soup. The idea of an onion based soup, topped with a toasted crouton and a thick layer of melted cheese just sounded unreal. But, nevertheless, its always made with beef broth!

So in an effort to fill my french onion soup void, I threw together a veggie friendly pot of soup.

What You Need: Yields 2 Servings

For the soup:

3 Medium Onions, sliced thin in half moons

2 Tbs. Butter

1 Clove Garlic, minced

3 Cups Vegetable Broth (or mushroom broth if you have it)

¼ Cup Marsala Wine

1 Tbs. Flour

Salt/Pepper, to taste

For the Topping:

4 Slices of a Baguette, toasted

1 Clove Garlic

3 Slices Picante Provolone Cheese (Gruyere is great too)

3 Slices Mozzarella Cheese

Heat oven to 500 degrees.

1. Set a large pot over medium heat. Add butter and onions and a dash of salt. Coat the onions in the melted butter and allow onions to saute for about 40 minutes. Toss onions every so often, but if they look like they are beginning to brown too fast, lower the heat. Then add the garlic, and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

2. Once the onions are caramelized (brown in hue), add in the flour. Mix the flour into the onions and cook for about 4 minutes. Then add the Marsala wine, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Then pour in the vegetable stock.

3. Bring the soup to a simmer, adding additional salt and pepper as needed. Allow the soup to simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

4. Ladle the soup into two oven safe bowls. Then, rub a garlic clove onto the toasted baguette slices. Next, place the toast onto the top of each bowl and layer the sliced cheeses on top.

5. Place soup bowls onto a cookie sheet and place in the preheated oven to broil the cheese. Broil until the cheese begins to bubble and brown on top.

6. Carefully remove the tray from the oven and place soup bowls onto a plate lined with a paper towel (to ensure the heat doesn’t crack the plate.) Then serve!