Thick and creamy, breaded and crispy on top with that cheesy flavour. Healthy sides made of fried mini asparagus, fresh green salad and colourful radishes, topped with herbal greens. Such a comforting dish, perfect as a main course or starter. Depending on how large your ramekins are you could make 4-6 of these, I made 5. Eat more as a main course, or serve them in ramekins as a starter like pictured.
Makes about 5 ramekins
Ingredients
Soup
In a pot add:
- 1kg yellow onions, half moon sliced (2.2 lbs)
- 50g vegan butter (1.8 oz)
- 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Add in later:
- 1 L water (4.2 cups)
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 and 3/4 vegetable stock cube
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
Topping
- 150g vegan cheese of choice (5.3 oz)
- 1.2 dl unsweetened plant milk of choice (½ cup) (or as needed, depends on your cheese)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1/4 vegetable stock cube
- ½ teaspoon salt
- A pinch of grated nutmeg
- Baguette slices as needed
Side dishes
- Salad as desired
- A few radishes
- Fresh chives
- Fresh parsley
- 110g mini asparagus (3.9 oz)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of freshly ground pepper
What you will need
- Cutting board and knife
- 1 measuring cups/spoons/a scale
- 1 large pot + spoon to stir
- 1 small pot + spoon to stir
- Ramekins
Instructions
Soup
- Peel the onions. Chop them in half and then slice them thinly in half moons. Add to a big pot with the vegan butter, olive oil, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Peel and finely chop the garlic and add to the pot.
- Turn the heat to high and sweat the onions while stirring almost constantly. Let them become translucent and let them caramelize slightly, but do not brown them. Continue for about 15 minutes or until the onions are about 1/3 of the original size, translucent and not burned.
- Pour in the water, dried vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, thyme and rosemary. Bring to a simmer on medium to low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. You could remove the lid halfway through if you need to thicken it slightly.
Topping
- Chop the vegan cheese in smaller chunks. Add to a small pot with the unsweetened plant milk, nutritional yeast, vegetable stock, nutmeg and salt. Turn heat on high and melt all ingredients together while stirring. When fully melted turn off heat and set aside.
- Pour the soup into the ramekins, leaving a little space for the bread and cheese. Slice the baguette and cover the soup with the bread. Pour over the cheese mixture evenly onto the bread. To avoid spillage in the oven put the ramekins on a lined baking tray. Bake in the oven at 220c (430 F) in the middle of the oven on convection for about 5-10 minutes or until the cheese looks set and golden and the bread is crisp on the edges.
Sides
- Wash and break off the stem of the mini asparagus. Fry in a pan with vegan butter and salt for a few minutes until they have slightly cooked. They should still look bright green, then they will still have a bite to them. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- Wash the lettuce and arrange on a plate. Wash and finely chop the radishes and arrange on the plate with the asparagus. When the french onion soup looks crisp and golden on top serve with the salad and asparagus. Sprinkle with fresh chives and parsley.
Enjoy !
