French Onion Soup, Roasted Tofu Stuffed with Garlic, Roasted Beet Salad

Dinner 12/07

French Onion Soup

Roasted Tofu Stuffed with Garlic

Roasted Beet Salad

It's cold and miserable weather these days, and it gets dark at 4:45pm -- and it's only December.

I love my stove.

French Onion Soup
(adapted from CI)

3 tablespoons soy margarine
6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices
sea salt
2 cups water, plus extra for deglazing
1/2 cup dry sherry
6 cups veg broth
6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine
1 bay leaf
Ground black pepper

Croutons
1 small baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 ounces shredded soy cheese (about 3/4 cup)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F, with rack in lower-middle position. Spray the inside of a large dutch oven with nonstick spray, and add soy margarine, onions and 1 tsp salt. Cook for an hour, covered, and then remove and stir, scraping the pot. Put it back in the oven with the lid off just a bit and cook for another 90-105 minutes, scraping at the hour mark, until the onions are brown and very soft.

Remove the pot, put it on the stove top, over medium-high heat, and keep cooking for about 15-20 minutes, or until all the onions brown and the liquid evaporates. Keep cooking for another 6-8 minutes until you have a dark crust on the bottom, and then add 1/4 cup water and deglaze. Repeat this deglazing/evaporating process two or three times, and then stir in the sherry and let it cook until it evaporates again.

Add the broth, two cups of water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 tsp salt and deglaze again. Bring to a simmer over high heat, and then reduce the heat back down and let it simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Toss the herbs and season with salt and pepper.

To make the croutons, bake the baguette slices on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until dry and golden.

Service: Fill broiler-safe crocks with soup, top with baguette slices, sprinkle with soy cheese, and broil for about 3-5 minutes until the soy cheese is melted bubbly, and then let it cool for another 5.

Tags: french, onion, soup, garlic, tofu, beet, salad, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666