Discuss television with me for any short period of time and you will quickly learn that I watch the Food Network almost exclusively. I somewhat expected this habit to change with my vegan diet, but it didn’t. The Food Network and I are entangled in a love/hate relationship, I can’t stand most of the personalities, I’m constantly shocked that they have no vegetarian shows, but, for some reason, I continue to tune in. Well, my time with the Food Network has finally paid off with Ten Dollar Dinners.
Melissa D’Arabian, winner of The Next Food Network Star, is the host of Ten Dollar Dinners in which she claims “4 people, 10 dollars, infinite possibilities.” Perhaps due to the cost efficient nature of the show, I have more than once seen ways to easily veganize her recipes, and that is what I present to you today! During this winter my goal is one soup per week, hence this being part of a series.
I will say that this soup should be reserved for the French Onion Soup enthusiasts, because it’s incredibly rich. My dad managed to inhale two full bowls of it, but I had trouble finishing one, I was somewhat overwhelmed by the flavor. That being said, it seems in this case a little would’ve gone a long way, however, growing up learning to cook I was always cooking for a family, and myself being an adamant leftover lover, I only know how to cook in bulk, so I doubled the recipe.
Ingredients:
4 tbsp Earth Balance Butter
3 1/2 lbs onions, or 8 yellow onions (I used a variety of onions, you can use whichever you have around, or are cheapest)
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp flour
1 cup vegan red wine
2 tsp lemon juice (I used orange, it worked fine)
2 tbsp of fresh thyme (I didn’t have any fresh thyme, I used a combination of fresh parsley and dill, with dried thyme)
2 bay leaves
8 cups of stock (I used a combination of Imagine Creamy Portobello, and Better Than Bullion No-Chicken and Vegetable base)
1 loaf of crusty bread to serve with
First thing’s first, cut up those onions. I use onions goggles. There. It’s out there for the whole world to see, I have really sensitive eyes and I cut onions every day and onions goggles were a spectacular investment for me, even if my little sister makes fun of me all the time for ’em. They really work! That being said, I used a variety of onions which I found at the Farmers Market (the single greatest thing about southern california is year round farmers markets), and the result was awesome, but I’m sure any onion would do.
Melissa claims it’s very important that you cut them “with the grain” so that they hold their shape, however after an hour and a half of caramalizing, they resemble onion noodles more than anything. Nevertheless, I included a picture of what a thinly “with the grain” sliced onion is. While slicing melt the butter over medium-low heat, and throw all your onions in with some salt and pepper.
Now, cover it and go read the paper. I’m serious! The onions need to caramelize for 1 1/2 hours! No joke. I check on them every half hour or so, and more frequently toward the end to make sure everything’s going well, so take this time to clean up and work on a side dish (I did my shittake quinoa green beans as the side, but those are a signature dish of mine, so I’m saving them for their own post), or catch up on Democracy Now! or whatever you do.
After an hour and a half have passed you will have a pot full of something that you can kind of tell was once onions. Add the flour, stir it in and let it cook for a minute or two, then deglaze the pan with the red wine. It’ll now look like a red slurry of onions, I tried to take a picture but the steam kept it from turning out. Next, add all the spices. Melissa likes to press the importance of fresh thyme, but I didn’t have any so I used parsley and dill, I also added garlic powder and some red pepper flakes, cause I add that to everything.
Lastly, add all the stock. I did one cup of Imagine’s Creamy Portobello Soup, three cups of Better Than Bullion Vegetable base, and four cups of Better Than Bullion No-Chicken base. I’m sure the combination of soups is not key to the dish, but Melissa emphasized the use of half chicken stock and half beef stock, so I figured I’d throw in what I could.
The greatest thing about this is, after all the broth is in, just bring it up to a simmer and it’s ready to serve. No sitting around for hours while the flavor integrates–the flavoring was done when you let the onions caramelize, and now it’s time to eat!
Radically Delicious 