French onion soup is a very flavourful soup, traditionally made using sliced onions and beef stock and served with large toasted croutons covered in mustard and Gougere cheese. This is not a low fat dish, but a luxury to be eaten occasionally and savoured.
For too long I had missed the bliss that is French Onion Soup because I couldn’t find a decent vegetarian one anywhere. Well my fellow veggies, prepare to have your socks knocked off because this soup delivers on every level; aroma, colour, texture and taste.
This soup will give you everything you are looking for if you take precious care of your onions and really show them the love they deserve. The dumplings not only give intensity of flavour, but also offer a gorgeous pastry like crunch on top combined with soft dumpling doughiness underneath.
I really hope you enjoy making this soup, it brings me a lot of joy!
French Onion Soup with Roasted Garlic & Thyme Dumplings
A luxurious soup, absolutely packed full of flavour. This soup is heaven in a dish for any vegetarians out there who have missed the authentic taste of a good French onion soup (which is traditionally made using beef stock). This soup has all the flavour of its meat infused counterpart, however it is completely vegan and gluten free to boot!
Equipment
- 1 Large Heavy Bottomed Pan With Lid
- Baking / Greaseproof Paper (to make a cartouche)
- Roasting Tray
Ingredients
For the dumplings
- 2 bulbs Garlic
- 110 g Plain Gluten Free Flour I use Doves Farm
- 110 g Chickpea (Gram) Flour
- 2 tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder
- 110 g Vegetable Suet / Plant Based Butter Suet is traditionally used in dumplings, but the butter works just fine in this recipe.
- 2 tbsp Thyme, chopped Thyme is a woody herb, you will need to remove the hard stalks before chopping. You can substitute the 2 tbsp of fresh chopped thyme for 2 tsp of dried thyme, if you like.
- 4 tbsp Nutritional Yeast I use Engevita
- 1 pinch Salt
- 130 ml Cold water
- 1 litre Vegetable Stock
For the soup
- 2 tbsp Mild Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Plant Butter Naturli and Flora Original Block are very good.
- 1 kg Onions, Sliced To 1cm Thickness
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Vegan Dijon Mustard
- 2 tbsp Gluten Free Flour
- 2 tsp Tomato Puree
- 90 ml Dry Vermouth Check that the brand you use is SFV (suitable for vegans). Dry Vermouth adds the flavour of white wine without having to open a whole bottle just to make soup. If you would rather use white wine then add 175ml good quality dry white wine.
- 1.2 litres Vegetable Stock 2 stock cubes will be enough to make up this stock. I use Knorr.
- 1 Cartouche This is a piece of baking parchment cut into a round to the approximate diameter of the pan you cook with.
Instructions
Dumplings
- Preheat your oven to 160°C / 325°F / Gas Mark 3
- Slice the top off each bulb of garlic and place on a baking sheet. Bake for roughly 40 minutes. When cooked, the bulbs should feel soft when you squeeze them between your fingers. Do not allow the garlic to burn as this will create a bitter flavour.
Soup
- Whilst the garlic for the dumplings is roasting, place your saucepan on a medium-high heat and add the oil, plant butter and onions. Stir.
- Take your sheet of greaseproof paper and fold in half, then half again, then half again until you have a wedge / cone shape. Measure roughly, by eye, from the central point to the outside of your pan and use a pair of scissors to cut off the end. Once you open this up you should have a rough circle of paper the width of your pan. Now scrunch up the cartouche, wet generously with water, open up and place on top of the onions. Put the lid on the pan.
- Sweat the onions for about 15 minutes until soft, stirring every few minutes and adding a little more water to the cartouche if they begin to dry out.
- Once the onions are soft, remove both the lid and the cartouche and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions should gradually transform from white to a nutty brown colour over this time. A deep sediment will form on the base of your pan. Every now and then add a little water to dissolve this (scrape with your wooden spoon to lift it from the base) and allow this sediment to coat your onions. It is vital that you do not burn the onions, but instead caramelise them, otherwise your soup will taste bitter.
- Stir in the flour, tomato puree, mustard and garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. An even deeper colour will develop – this is what you want to create a rich, dark broth.
- Add the dry vermouth and vegetable stock to the pan, stir and simmer gently for around 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm until the dumplings are ready.
Dumplings
- Line a large roasting pan with greaseproof paper and increase the temperature of the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.
- Put each roasted garlic bulb on its side on a chopping board and press down on the top with the back of knife. The cloves of garlic should squeeze out from their outer wrappers onto the board. Any that don't come out just peel out with your fingers. Puree the garlic with a fork or a sharp knife.
- Mix the plain gluten free flour, chickpea flour, baking powder, salt, nutritional yeast, garlic and thyme together in a large mixing bowl.
- Rub in the vegetable suet or plant butter (if using) between your fingers until all the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the cold water and mix to form a soft dough. Take pieces of the dough and roll in your hands to make 12 – 16 round balls of equal size. The dumplings can be sticky and so it helps if you coat your hands in a little flour to make the dumplings easier to shape.
- Place the dumplings in the roasting pan, leaving enough space for each dumpling to spread and rise a little.
- Add the vegetable stock to the pan until it is half way up the dumplings. Put in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the dumplings have expanded and formed a golden crust on top.
- Serve bowls of soup with dumplings on top and enjoy.
Notes
You can use all plain gluten free flour for the dumplings if you wish, but I find the dumplings then miss the savoury flavour that the chickpea flour adds. The chickpea flour also adds a bit more protein to the meal.
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