Vegetarian English onion soup

It has been little chilly lately even in England, so soups are in style again. I'm sure the summer season for light and fresh salads will arrive soonish, but now I feel more like making soups, broths and stews.

Onion soup is an especially wonderful and hearty winter dish, a very filling soup and easy to make. I have made an English style vegetarian onion soup instead of the typical French one. I used dry English cider and smoked cheddar, which make it rather English style. Give it a go, I'm sure you'll love it!

Ingredients for the soup:

4 large onions

25 g butter

1 tsp salt

2 garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp flour

1dl dry English cider (for example Wyld Wood organic cider)

500 ml vegetable stock

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp black pepper

For the top:

Applewood smoked Cheddar

Rye bread slices (1 per a soup bowl)

Method

Peel the onions and chop them into crescent shapes. Heat the butter in a large pan. Caramelise the onions in the butter under lid at low heat until they are soft and browned. Season them with salt once little liquid has appeared. This stage takes anything from around 40 minutes to a couple of hours, so be patient and keep occasionally stirring.

Once the onions are turning brownish, mix the flour into the onions and then pour in the cider. Let it simmer for a few minutes and then also add the vegetable stock and the bay leaves. Continue simmering for around 30 minutes. Season the soup with soya sauce, black pepper and thyme and remove the bay leaves before serving.

In my mind rye bread with cheese is the best topping for this soup. Bake the rye bread slices with the cheese on the top in the oven and place the slices on the soup just before serving. Decorate with thyme leaves.

Enjoy the soup and feel the warmth!

Your VegHog

White asparagus soup

Asparagus is in season now, so it's the perfect time to get some lovely local produce and try this soup.

I made this white asparagus soup inspired by a German spring classic Spargelsuppe, which is a white asparagus soup but typically made buttery and creamy in comparison to my lighter vegan version. I also added potatoes to make it more filling and therefore the asparagus taste isn't as strong as in the pure asparagus soup.

Ingredients:

A bunch of white asparagus

A few potatoes

1 Shallot

2-3 cups of vegetable stock

Thyme

Oil

Salt

Pepper

This is how it's done:

White asparagus needs peeling, so peel them and the potatoes. Then chop the asparagus into one inch length pieces and quarter the potatoes. Chop the shallot as well.

Heat some oil in a pan and first fry the onions for a while. Then add the potatoes and again after a while the asparagus pieces. Stir and fry for a moment and add the vegetable stock.

Let simmer under lid by occasionally stirring until potatoes and asparagus are tender. Add more vegetable stock at any point if needed. Season the soup with fresh thyme, salt and pepper and then puree it. Let simmer a while more after pureeing and serve hot.

And there you have it: a simple spring soup.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog