Lentil French Onion Soup
Since Plant Powered Plates are our theme month, we’re taking a non traditional approach on French Onion Soup and swapping in lentils for beef. This utilizes a few pantry staples that is perfect for the end of winter. Although it’s vegetarian, and vegan if you want!, the onions and shallots add depth while the lentils add heartiness. Bon appetit!
Halee
Ingredients
4 Medium onions*
2 Shallots*
3 Cloves garlic*
3 tbs butter (can sub in olive oil)
~2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup wine (optional)
4 Cups of vegetable stock or water + bouillon
1/2 cup red lentils
3 Bay leaves
Lots of love
A few sprigs of thyme
Lots of black pepper, to taste
Salt to taste
1 tsp Lemon or apple cider vinegar
2-3 Slices of bread (a good time to use stale bread)
Melty cheese like swiss or gruyere, optional
*These ingredients can be found at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market
Method
Prep ingredients - slice onions and shallots, about 1 cm slices and try to keep them as even as you can (it is worth it to take your time since this is the base of the dish). Mince the garlic.
Heat a mid sized pot over medium. Once it’s hot, add 1 tbs of olive oil and butter. Add in the onions and shallots. Stir to be sure all of the onions are coated with oil. Continue to stir every few minutes so they don’t burn. If they get unevenly brown, turn the heat down. After 5 minutes, add in a generous pinch of salt and the garlic. Add a generous amount of black pepper. Continue to stir every few minutes and cook until the onions are lightly caramelized - they are light to dark brown and reach an almost jammy texture. This will take around 30 minutes.
While the onions are caramelizing, preheat your oven to 375°F. Rip the bread slices into bite size pieces. On a baking sheet, coat them in the rest of the olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven for about 10 minutes or until they reach your desired crunchiness.
After the onions are caramelized, add the red wine in to deglaze the pan (releasing the brown bits at the bottom of the pan). Add in the stock, herbs and lentils. Bring the soup up to a boil and then reduce them to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning, and check the doneness of the lentils. Keep simmering if the lentils aren’t done yet. When the lentils are finished, add in the lemon juice or ACV. You can serve like this or add an extra step.
Dish the soup into oven safe -soup sized- dishes, then top with croutons and cheese. Broil in the oven until the cheese is melty.
