Vegetarian French Onion Soup 

When I finished the soup and tasted it, I thought that in my life few recipes had left me speechless with heart-shaped eyes. An enveloping dish that pampers and warms you, between different flavors and textures: the sweetness of the onion, the scent of thyme, the taste of the broth and the crunchiness of the bread covered with stringy Gruyere. What can I say? Vive la France! I'll tell you a little trick, which you may already know, so as not to cry while slicing the onions: divide them in half, peel them and keep them soaking in a bowl with cold water for 15 minutes.

The soupe à l'oignon is the famous French onion soup, one of the most famous and replicated dishes abroad of French cuisine. It is a particularly appetizing onion soup, since it is sprinkled with cheese and au gratin in the oven until it melts. The origins of this onion soup probably date back to Roman times, but more recently, during the eighteenth century, the recipe has been enriched and reworked assuming the form it still has.  Once ready, the soupe à l'oignon is generally divided into single-portion cocottine, garnished with toasted bread and sprinkled with cheese. A short passage under the oven grill will guarantee you a perfectly grilled onion soup, with a nice layer of stringy cheese. 

Truly irresistible!

Ingredients for onion soup

800 g Golden onions

100 g butter

1 tablespoon flour 

100 ml Dry white wine

1 l chicken broth (or beef or vegetable)

3 pinches Fine salt

Black pepper to taste

200 g Gruyere

2 bay leaves (fresh)

1 sprig Thyme (fresh)

1 clove Garlic

8 slices Toasted bread

How to make onion soup

Peel the onions, cut them in half and soak them in a bowl with cold water for 15 minutes (this will reduce the side effect of tears), then drain and slice them. Melt the butter in a pan (preferably non-stick and add the onions, let them cook over low heat for about 10 -15 minutes, stirring occasionally. They must wither and not brown. Now add the sifted flour and mix well and vigorously so as not to form lumps. Raise the heat keeping it medium and blend with the wine, letting it evaporate until it almost completely withdraws, then add the chicken broth and season with salt (two or three pinches). Add the bay leaves and the sprig of thyme, lower the heat and cook for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cut a few slices of homemade bread and put them to toast on a plate. The amount you decide, I used 8 divided in half, in order to get 16 small slices, 4 per portion to put two on the bottom of the bowl, and two above. If you use the baguette the slices are already very small, you will not need to divide them. Once the bread is toasted, lightly rub the slices with the clove of garlic. Take care of the Gruyere: cut it into cubes and transfer it to a mixer, or scratch it by hand with the grater and keep it aside in a bowl. As soon as the soup is ready (it should not be too bland but not dry either) turn off and turn on the oven at 200 ° C. Prepare 4 bowls of cocotte, lay two slices of toasted bread on the bottom and pour over the soup, then finish with two more slices on top and a generous sprinkling of Gruyere. Bake in grill mode until the cheese has melted and has formed a crispy crust on the surface, then take it out of the oven, sprinkle with a little pepper and enjoy it hot and stringy!

Recommendations

For classic onion soup you need chicken broth, but you can replace it with beef or vegetable broth. The cheese to be used should be Gruyere, otherwise the classic Gruyere (Swiss or emmental) is fine.