French onion soup with porcini mushrooms
Today is the day you finally finish that book that's been sitting on your nightstand for weeks. Or perhaps the day you finally watch that documentary that's been on your watchlist forever. Why? Because today we're making onion soup, which isn't complicated at all, but does require patience.
- 40 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 liter of hot water (or vegetable broth)
- 750 g onions
- 3 EL vegane Butter
- 1 tbsp wheat flour (type 405)
- 200 ml vegan white wine
- 6 sprigs of thyme
- 1 Baguette
- 120g vegan shredded cheese
- Salt
- Pfeffer
- White wine vinegar
- Pour hot water over the dried porcini mushrooms and let them soak for 30–60 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel and halve all the onions, then slice them into thin half-rings. Melt vegan butter in a large pan and caramelize the onions over low to medium heat for about 45 minutes, until they are sweet and golden brown.
- Drain the porcini mushrooms, but reserve the soaking liquid. Add the soaked mushrooms to the pan and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Then dust everything with flour and deglaze with vegan white wine. Stir in the mushroom stock (or alternatively, vegetable stock). Add the thyme sprigs and simmer the soup for about 20 minutes. Season generously with salt, pepper, and a splash of white wine vinegar.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (convection). Slice the baguette and place the slices in the oven while it preheats until crispy.
- Remove the thyme sprigs from the soup and then transfer the soup to individual ramekins. Spread the baguette slices with vegan butter and place them on top of the soup. Mix the vegan shredded cheese with a little vegetable oil and spread it over the bread slices. Bake the soup at 220°C (425°F) using convection until the cheese layer on top is melted and golden brown.
Our soup is, of course, strongly inspired by the French classic, soupe à l'oignon, which is finished with slices of bread or croutons and topped with melted cheese. Heavenly! Historically, the melted cheese layer was added later and completes the modern version of French onion soup. It was particularly popular in the 19th century at the Parisian market hall "Les Halles" (now a huge shopping center) – both as breakfast for the workers there and for all the night owls looking for a filling hangover cure after a party.
There are, of course, countless different recipes for onion soup, but generally speaking, it involves chopping a lot of onions and sautéing them for an extended period until they are almost golden. They are then simmered in one or more liquids and, as described, often topped with slices of bread and cheese. There are also plenty of recipes for vegan onion soup, which is why we've made a slight variation and are combining the soup with porcini mushrooms today.
More precisely, with dried porcini mushrooms, which we soak beforehand. Opinions differ on the broth that results from this process. Some say the soaking water should absolutely be discarded, while others claim it's perfectly suitable for cooking. We can't make the decision for you, so we're giving you two options: Either use the broth directly for cooking OR discard it and use vegetable broth instead, in which the onions continue to simmer. The latter would also apply if you use fresh mushrooms instead of dried ones. Either way, we'll say: Bon appétit!
