Nourish Your Body & Soul With Comforting French Onion Soup
Ahhh, is there anything better than a bowl of hot, comforting soup? Today I felt like eating this caramelised and yummy situation of glory called French onion soup. I have very fond memories of gatherings with my mates when we would huddle around the table, each would grab a bowl of this soup, top it generously with fresh croutons and slurp it away #goodoldtimes.
When I make this soup, I usually use a lot of onions of course, wine, and homemade stock (check out my online cooking classes Let’s Eat Light and Easy to learn how to make stock at home). This time I didn’t have stock ready so I came up with this cheat version of French onion soup where we will be using water instead.
Best Technique For This Is…
… giving it your full attention, dancing with the heat and stirring the soup continuously. That’s it really. Onions have sugar in them, which is why they get so yummy and caramelised when we fry them, but you really have to keep an eye on them because they can burn. And when they burn, oh boy, they get bitter and you’ll have to throw everything away and start over.
To avoid such an upsetting scenario, just stay close to the onions, stir them continuously, and feel and adjust the heat. It will pay off and you’ll be rewarded with a delicious, caramelised onion jelly.
French Onion Soup is the best when served hot and with some croutons. I like making these myself like I did in my Vegan Caesar Salad, but this time I actually used sourdough banana bread made from banana flour. Wow, I know, right?
Sometimes I feel lucky that I live in Indonesia and I have access to incredible products like banana flour. For this recipe you can use any other sourdough bread you like, the croutons will turn out just fine. I brushed my bread slices with a mixture of olive oil, grated garlic, salt and pepper and toasted them until they were super crispy.
French Onion Soup Recipe!
~INGREDIENTS~
- 2-4 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1kg Onions, thinly sliced
- A handful of Fresh Thyme
- 2 Garlic Cloves, grated
- 2 Tbsp Shiro Miso
- 250ml Wine
- 1/2l Water
- 1/2 tsp Maple Syrup
- Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
- A handful of Croutons, for serving
- 1 Tbsp #COMFORT
~METHOD~
Heat a big pot on high heat and pour in the oil.
Add the onions and cook for 30 minutes while stirring continuously to avoid burning.
Add the thyme, grated garlic, and miso paste. Season with black pepper and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Scrape off the bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Pour in the wine and cook for a couple of minutes until the alcohol evaporates.
Taste and add more seasoning if needed.
Pour in the water, bring to the boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Finally, drizzle in the maple syrup, stir well to combine and remove the soup from the heat.
Serve the soup topped with croutons.
***
Serves: 3-4
Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 70 mins
Freezer-friendly: Yes
C, RSF, GF, NF, DF, VEG, V
Congrats! You got yourself a bowl of glorious and caramelly French onion soup that will give your organs a warming hug. If you are a big soup lover, head to my blog for more soup recipes!
I’d be happy to have you as a regular member of my YouTube channel where we get to talk about great food and even more importantly, we get to EAT guilt-free food that nourishes our bodies.
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Chef Cynthia Louise
