French Onion Soup w/ Croutons

 I honestly don't really like onions but I had to use a whole lot that we had sitting around the kitchen.  The broth on this soup is just delicious.  I don't think I really cooked the onions quite long enough so I changed the directions from what I did to reflect that.  Nutritional yeasts adds a cheesy taste to the croutons.

French Onion Soup w/ Croutons

Serves 4

Takes about 45 minutes

Traditional French onion soup with the twist of Asian fusion: a little miso really enhances the flavor of the broth and makes the soup more rich.  If you are using an already very flavorful broth, you can probably ditch the miso but I just used boullion powder and the miso sealed the deal.  There may be more croutons than needed from a whole loaf of French bread but they are great on salad or in other soups.

Ingredients:

Croutons:

1 loaf French bread, diced into cubes

2 ½ tbsp olive oil

2 tsp nutritional yeast

2 tsp garlic powder

Soup:

1 ½ lbs sliced onions

2 tbsp margarine

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup white wine

3 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp garlic powder

1 ½ tsp thyme

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp sage

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp miso

1. To make the croutons, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the bread cubes with the olive oil, yeast, and garlic powder until evenly coated.  Spread them on a baking pan and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crusty.  Remove from the oven and set aside.

2. To make the soup, heat the margarine and oil in a pot over medium high heat.  Add the onions and sauté until onions begin to caramelize (10 – 15 minutes).  Add wine and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil again and then simmer for 12 – 15 minutes or until onions are completely caramelized.  While the soup is simmering, add the rest of the ingredients except the miso.

4. When the soup is done cooking, turn off the heat.  Scoop out about ½ cup of the broth and place it into a different bowl.  Dissolve the miso into this broth, stirring until there are no lumps and then transfer the mixture back to the soup.  Stir to homogenize.

5. Serve the soup hot with croutons in it.