Vegetarian French Onion Soup

[apollymi]

 I have long loved French Onion soup, but since I went vegetarian, it's been something I've had to deny myself. Well, no more, I decided: it was time to change that.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2.5 cups of vegetable broth
• 3-5 garlic cloves, minced, according to your tastes
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the onions. Stir until tender, about 20 minutes. Add minced garlic cloves at about the 10 minute point.

Add flour, stirring constantly so that it does not stick. Slowly add broth and water in stages; this helps to prevent lumps of flour from forming. Add soy sauce, parsley, and thyme at this time as well.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low (if your stove burner dials use numbers, around a 1 or a 2) and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve hot with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Comments

[full_metal_ox]

I note you're using soy or Worcestershire sauce to supply the umami that would traditionally come from beef stock; since you're familiar with miso soup, have you considered miso as a flavor base for vegetarian onion soup?

Some suitable choices might be Hatchō miso (almost entirely soy-based, with a brown-black color and dense earthy texture similar to chocolate fudge and a complex richness analogous to dark coffee or chocolate) or red barley miso (with a sharp salty tang.)