Faced with a half loaf of tasty but hard bread, we devised this vegetarian onion soup, which you should be able to make without a trip to the store. Oh yeah, and we have a small kitchen that doesn't stock oven-proof bowls, so we made it in a casserole pan. Not as artistic but very practical.
French Onion Soup, Family-Style
3 medium onions, thinly sliced (or more, if you like)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 loaf leftover white Italian bread, cut into slices
6 ounces swiss cheese, grated
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
canola oil
1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Toast the bread slices directly on the rack until they are completely dried out. This could take up to an hour.
2. Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons of canola oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, carrots, celery, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook until the vegetables have softened and are beginning to brown. You should see plenty of browning on the bottom of the pot, but keep a close eye on the pot, as it will be very easy to let the vegetables burn.
3. When the vegetables are showing a good amount of browning, add the wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan with your spoon to loosen the brown bits. Allow the wine to reduce by about half.
4. Add four cups of water. Bring the pot to a simmer, and let it cook for about 45 minutes. Do not salt the broth at this point - it is ok if it tastes a bit under-seasoned.
5. In another stock pot, cook the sliced onions in two tablespoons of canola oil and a pinch of salt very slowly over low heat. Stir every once in a while. If you are short on time, you can cook it over higher heat, but there is no substitute for the taste of onions that have been slow-cooked over low heat. Cook until the onions are entirely limp, translucent, and have lost about half of their bulk.
6. Pour the vegetable broth through a strainer into the pot with the sliced onions. Mash the vegetables against the side of the strainer to get every last bit of broth.
7. Tie the sprigs of thyme together with kitchen twine and drop them into the pot. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Remove the thyme.
8. Turn the oven up to 450 degrees. Pour the soup into a 9-inch square casserole. Top with the toasted slices of bread. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
9. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and browning a little bit. If any pieces of bread start to burn before the cheese is bubbling, tent some aluminum foil over the casserole.
10. Serve by spooning the bread and cheese onto plates, and adding some extra soup from the bottom.
