Meatless Monday with French Onion Soup

Welcome back to Meatless Monday – your source for eating meat-free one day a week to support the non-profit Meatless Monday initiative that improves personal and planetary health.

A hearty, satisfying meatless meal in the winter is entirely possible, especially with this delicious French onion soup.  This is a recipe you might think was hard to tackle, and how would you make it an eco-friendly and meatless meal, I mean doesn’t it usually include beef stock? As with any other recipe using organic and locally (or as close to home as possible) grown produce helps, as it reduced your meal’s carbon footprint. The beef stock is not tricky to get around at all, you no longer need to sacrifice the right kind of flavor by using vegetable stock when making a meatless meal, but how? By using a vegetarian beef stock. It sounds like an oxymoron but it is a vegetarian stock that tastes like beef without any animal byproduct. A favorite brand of mine is Nutrimax Soup Mix: Fat free vegetarian approved beef flavor. It is gluten free and made with non-sulfited cruciferous vegetables and garlic. Nutrimax also makes a chicken version. The soup mix is used like any other bouillion mix and is an eco-friendly delicious alternative. Having a vegetarian chicken or beef bouillon will open up the number of soups you can make, without sacrificing any flavor in the process. So without further ado my favorite recipe for an eco-friendly French onion soup:

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 8 large organic onions, sliced very thin (works best if sliced on a mandolin but can be done by hand)
• 4 cloves organic garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons of unbleached flour
• 6 cups of vegetarian beef stock
• ¾ cups dry organic white wine
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 stick of French bread
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 cups grated gruyere Cheese

Directions:

1. Sauté onions in oil in a pot low heat until tender and golden yellow, about 20 to 25 minutes
2. Sprinkle flour over organic onions; cook a few minutes more, browning the flour well.
3. Add stock and wine and bring to boil; add thyme.
4. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 20 minutes or so.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Meanwhile, slice the French stick thinly, spread bread slices with butter and toast under the broiler, watching carefully to avoid burning.
7. When soup is ready, spoon into 6 ovenproof bowls;
8. Top each with several slices slices of toast.
9. Divide cheese evenly into 6 portions and sprinkle one portion over toast in each bowl.
10. Place bowls on cookie sheet and place under the broiler watching carefully so cheese browns but does not burn, take 3-5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden.

By making a larger batch, you can freeze it easily in large family sized containers or by individual servings, it will last up to nine months in the freezer. This is an eco-friendly dish that is hearty enough to be used as a meal on its own and yet, in smaller portions makes for a great appetizer.  This is a great recipe to have in your repertoire so you can make it for that special someone in your life.  Plus it supports Meatless Monday which you can learn more about at meatlessmonday.com. Enjoy!