January 5, 2016

Vegetarian Vidalia Onion Soup

Name: Vidalia Onion Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 145 min
Total time: 160 min
Yield: 4 people
Ingredients: 2 pounds vidalia or sweet yellow onions; 4 tablespoons salted butter; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon sugar; 3 tablespoons vegetarian better than bouillon paste; 1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (optional); 2 quarts hot water; 2 stems fresh rosemary; 3 tablespoons flour; 1/2 cup white wine; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 tablespoon butter; 2 cups grated fontina cheese; 1 tablespoon raw onion or chopped onion greens

Several weeks ago, I found myself sitting across from my sister at an Alabama restaurant as she savoured every piping hot bite of a delicious French onion soup. Of course, it contained beef broth so I was stuck staring rudely. With every sip, I knew I was destined to make my own, vegetarian version this winter.

French onion soup is one of those perfect winter dishes that makes you feel cozy and comforted and with the added bread-cheese gratinée, you just can’t go wrong.

Seeing as I was back in Alabama, thinking about onions, I just had to purchase some Vidalias. This strain of onion comes from a particular area in Georgia and you can’t get them here in California.

I love Vidalias, they are SO perfect for an onion soup. I was able to find petite Vidalias with the greens still on so we used those in the topping as well. Of course, for onion soup enthusiasts without access to the South’s produce, a standard yellow onion will suffice. I did end up supplementing with a few cippolini onions, which are more easily procured from anywhere in the country.

Whether it’s with Vidalias or yellow onions, this is a thicker-than-average onion soup. It is salty, especially after you add the gratinée, so I recommend putting very little actual salt in the soup.

Vidalia Onion Soup

Course Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours 25 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

For the Soup

2 pounds vidalia or sweet yellow onions
4 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons vegetarian better than bouillon paste
1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms optional
2 quarts hot water
2 stems fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the gratinee

1 tablespoon butter
2 cups grated fontina cheese
1 tablespoon raw onion or chopped onion greens

Instructions

Brown onions.

Slice the onions thinly and cook them in the butter and olive oil over low heat for 15 minutes.
Add salt and sugar, stirring.
Simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Make the broth.

Stir the bouillon base into the hot water along with the mushrooms.
Let rest for 30 minutes to rehydrate the mushrooms.
Stir the rosemary and flour into the pot, until thick.
Add the mushrooms, broth, wine, and pepper. Stirring and simmering for one hour.

Bake soup with gratinee.

Preheat the oven to 325F.
Pour the soup into oven-safe bowls.
Slice the bread and butter each slice.
Arrange the butter bread on top of the soup and top with a generous amount of grated cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes and finish off with roughly 2 minutes on broil.
Top with grated raw onion or onion greens.