Soul Warming French Onion Soup [that will also do your body good]
I might have overindulged during the Holidays, but for the record, not all of my indulgences were of the unhealthy kind, you know…
I mean sure, a lot of them were, but still, I did get to enjoy some extremely comforting dishes that were made super healthy too.
Hey, after all, it’s not because it’s Christmas that EVERYTHING you eat has to be of the super indulgent kind.
For proof, check out this amazing French Onion Soup that I made for my daughter on New Year’s Eve.
French Onion Soup, you see, would be one of her ultimate favorite foods in the whole wide world, like the one thing she would probably choose to have for her birthday if I asked her what she wanted to eat, so, although I never considered this to be the healthiest, I still make it for her every now and then.
Since she likes it so much, and since I love her even more than she likes onion soup, I decided to make this as a starter for our New Year’s Eve Dinner.
However, just like I did with our entire Christmas menu this year, I also pledged that I would keep this one as healthy and clean as I possibly could and hope that she would find it as just as good.
Well, contrary to what I initially thought, it wasn’t really all that hard to keep this soup healthy.
I mean, all there is to it really are fresh onions, good home made low fat turkey stock, good, wholesome whole grain bread and a little bit of light cheese, which I consider to be good for you so long as you don’t overdo it.
The only thing that bugs me about it really (and that I know I will never be able to do anything about) is the fact that you have to cook the onions for so long. I am a strong believer in cooking any food, but especially fruits and vegetables, as little as you possibly can because cooking destroys some of the nutrients.
But when it comes to making onion soup, you just don’t have a choice! The key to making fantastic onion soup is to get the onions to caramelize real good before adding anything to them at all, save for a few spices… and that takes close to a half hour!
That’s where all the magic happens, though! That’s where all the amazing sweet and nutty flavor of the onions comes to life. That’s also where the gorgeous, deep golden brown color of the broth emanates from.
What’s left of the onions’ nutrients after they have cooked for so long, I’m not too sure…
But if I have to choose between that and any other meal that comes out of a can or pouch, I’ll take the former without so much as a moment of hesitation!
Plus, hey, sometimes, you do have to cut yourself a little slack, too.
I say this soup is still shockingly healthy for a meal that ranks so high in the “comfort food department”.
Just don’t go do what I did that night and have raclette right after…
Stick with something light, like a salad or something.
Oh, and you might want to go easy on the dressing!
Soul Warming French Onion Soup
Ingredients
- 10 medium onions, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- ½ tsp Himalayan or fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 whole star anise`
- 4 whole Juniper berries
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp dried savory
- 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 5 cups low fat turkey or chicken stock
- 50 g parmesan cheese, grated
- 50 g low fat mozzarella, grated
- 100 g light emmental cheese, grated
- 4 slices stale or toasted whole grain bread
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, cook the onions, garlic, salt and pepper over medium heat until the onions get super soft and take a beautiful caramel color, about 20-25 minutes. Stir often so the onions don't burn.
- When the onions are ready, add nutmeg, star anise, juniper berries, bay leaf, dried savory, Dijon mustard and stock.
- Bring to a boil then cover, lower the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes to allow the flavors to infuse. Turn off the heat and remove bay leaf, star anise and juniper berries.
- When you are ready to serve the soup, ladle it into 4 oven safe individual soup bowls and place a piece of stale bread in each bowl. You want your bread to be on the very dry side. If you find it's not dry enough, give it a few minutes in the toaster.
- Mix all the cheeses together and sprinkle evenly over the 4 bowls.
- Place the bowls in a 375F oven and cook until the cheese is all melted and bubbly and turns a beautiful golden color. (you might want to place a cookie sheet or piece of aluminum foil underneath to catch possible overspillage)
Notes
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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30 Comments on “Soul Warming French Onion Soup [that will also do your body good]”
Hello again, Sonia! Glad to see you’re getting back on track diligently.
Felt the rare need to comment yet again, because I think adding a pinch of baking soda to onions makes them caramelise in 10 minutes! I’m not sure how good the results are since I have yet to try it myself, but check out this blog post: http://www.apronstringsblog.com/10-minute-caramelized-onions-recipe/
Anyway, thanks for sharing this recipe; my Mom is a huge fan of French Onion Soup and I’m always on the lookout for healthy versions.
Good to know, Irina! I’ll make sure to give that a try next time. I know it works wonders to help cook beans faster and to make them softer, too. You just need to add a little bit to your soaking / cooking water. Can’t wait to see if it does its magic with onions. Thanks a lot for the trick. And I hope your mom likes my version of French Onion Soup, if she ever gets to try it. 🙂
Yummy, maybe I want to try the French onion soup.
it looks very tasty.
Oh wow, that looks amazing!! It would probably really hit the spot on a chilly day! Thanks for sharing!
Yum! This looks so amazing! French onion is my husbands favorite soup and I’ve been making it for him lots this year, although it’s a really simple version. All the flavors in yours sound great!
Do you have suggestions for making this vegetarian? Using turkey or chicken stock is out of the question for a veggie. Is it as simple as a veg stock substitution?
Vegetable stock should do the trick alright, Beth!
I wouldn’t call 374 calories of anything shockingly healthy. Nonetheless, I will try this.
hi sonia…i have to try this recipe…how long does it takes to finish this recipe?
About an hour, maybe?
wow its so yummy.
thank for recipe. 🙂
I found you from my friend reference, thanks your recipe give me any idea for my family gathering
thanks for this delicious recipe..
many thanks for the recipe. it’s inspired me for our net gathering food
rumah minimalis modern
I can share this Recipes to my friend ?
How do you mean, Soto?
thanks for the recipe
Onion soup ? Like this, please post Indonesian soup. 🙂
mmm yummmmyyyy,,,
it looks delicious,,,
In the tags up top, the word “vegetarian” had me very excited, as I’m a strict pescetarian, and really miss having French onion soup. However, this recipe calls specifically for turkey or chicken broth. Is there any sort of substitute I could use to ditch the use of meat without sacrificing the flavor?
Thank you very much!
Oh no! I’m so sorry about that, Tessa. My mistake! I suppose you could use a good vegetable broth, but of course, the flavor wouldn’t be exactly the same. It would still be very good, though, since the soup gets a lot of its flavor from the caramelized onions.
woww must try this, thanks
thanks… next time i want to try
Oh wow, that looks amazing!! It would probably really hit the spot on a chilly day! Thanks for sharing!
Luckily, onions don’t lose nutrients in a soup, they leech out into the broth. mmm quercetin.
I never heard onion soup before. It looks delicious. Maybe I have to try this recipe someday. But, how long to cook it, Sonia?
I love the soup bowls! Where are they from?
I got them a long time ago, Lindsay… I really can’t remember where!
I want to eat that