Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Heat olive oil in a large pot over low-medium heat. Add sliced onions and spread them over the pot. They’ll fill most of the pot, but will cook down a considerable amount.

After about 10 minutes, sprinkle some salt over the onions. Stir every few minutes to prevent burning. (They can stick to the bottom of the pot for a little bit to brown, but you’ll want to stir them before the burn.)

After 20 minutes, add 1/4 cup water to deglaze the onions. About 15 minutes later, do this one more time with another 1/4 cup water when you notice a dark crust forming at the bottom of the pot. Cook for another 10–15 minutes and then deglaze the onions one final time with the dry sherry. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes so that the dry sherry evaporates.

Add broth, remaining water, thyme, and bay leaf to the pot. Bring broth to a simmer and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure there aren’t any onions sticking to the bottom. Simmer soup for another 20 minutes covered. Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed.

When you’re ready to eat, serve the soup in individual bowls that can be placed in the oven. Top them with one or two slices of baguette, some Parmesan cheese (or Swiss or Gruyere) and place in the oven. Broil for about 5 minutes so that cheese is golden brown. Then remove from the oven (be careful to not let it burn!). If you’re vegan, just skip this step altogether or use daiya cheese.