Healthy French Onion Soup

One of my all time guilty pleasures is French Onion Soup - nothing compares to the caramelized onion goodness plus a cheesy bread topping, how can you resist ordering it? One of the best cups of French Onion Soup I’ve ever had was the night before Bill and I got engaged, when we had a delicious Ahwahnee, now the Majestic Yosemite Hotel. Not only is it served in the cutest croquette, but it comes out overflowing with cheesy crostini goodness that you know can’t be good for you. I dare you to not love their onion soup, it is literally the best.

But since you can’t always be on vacation and can’t always justify a decadent cup of soup, I’m cluing you into my healthy French Onion soup recipe, see ya later croutons and hello cauliflower! While you might be cutting carbs and limiting cheese, this recipe still makes my mouth water, it has all the flavor of my favorite onion soup, without the major guilt. Pair the soup with a two-ingredient dough bread bowl for the ultimate comfort meal!

ingredients:

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 lb yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/3 cup white wine

2 tbsp flour

6 cups beef stock

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

5 cups cauliflower florets

2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese (I buy as a block and shred using my food processor)

directions:

Melt butter over medium low heat in a dutch oven. Add onions and cook, stirring every few minutes until the onions soften, about 10-15 minutes.

Season the onions with 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper and continue to cook until the onions are golden brown in color and are caramelized, 20-30 minutes.

Increase heat to high and add wine, scrapping the caramelized bits off of bottom of the dutch oven. Cook until the liquid evaporates, about 2-3 minutes. Add flour, stirring to coat the onions, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the beef stock, thyme, bay leaves and remaining salt, and bring the soup to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Discard the thyme and bay leaves. Add the cauliflower and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until cauliflower is tender.

When ready to serves, ladle soup into oven proof bowl or bread bowl and top with shredded Gruyere. Place on a baking sheet and broil until cheese is golden and bubbly, 2-3 minutes.