French Onion Soup

a vegetarian twist on a classic bistro favorite

Here's the recipe you've been waiting for all week. I tweeted, twitpic'd and it was day six of project 365. I'm pretty sure it has also driven a twitter pal crazy since I mentioned a secret ingredient but wouldn't divulge it until I posted the recipe.

I should take a few steps back before giving up the goods. I was minding my own business, catching up on food blogs, when I came across Jen's tempting pictures of what she'd been cooking while visiting her parents. They'd just recently made Julia and Jacques' French onion soup.

Next thing I knew I was slicing onions. It just so happens I'd bought some at the farmers' market the week before for that very purpose but got sidetracked by the New Year holiday. No beef stock on hand, I started improvising. I could've made a quick vegetable stock, but work had piled up over the vacation and I needed a quicker solution.

The onions had developed such a beautiful brown color while caramelizing, I had a hunch they could serve as the base for a stock. Quick, and tasting thinking indeed. In went a crushed clove of garlic, a bit of sherry vinegar and a bit more pepper. Good, but it needed something else.

Hmm (browses though cupboards). And there it was. Sitting innocently on a shelf and unsuspecting of what I was about to do with it. Molasses. And that dear friends is the secret ingredient. Something we've all been using for our holiday baking had given my soup the depth of flavor it needed to pass for the traditional one made with beef stock.

Try this vegetarian version of a beloved classic and I dare you to disagree. And, as for cheese, use what you like. Gruyere or Swiss are traditionally used, but since we've thrown that out the window, go for whatever melting cheese strikes your fancy. I used Provolone, and in a pinch tested in with a mix of Monterey Jack and Grana Padano. Here's to a deliciously healthy start to the New Year.

Originally published January 2010