Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Yum! This was my first attempt at making French Onion Soup and it was pretty great if I say so myself!


The Recipe:

3 medium onions, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced

1 bay leaf
1 tsp dry thyme
2 tbs butter
1/2 c red wine
2 qts Porchini mushroom broth*
French bread
Shredded cheese, I used a combo of Swiss and Provolone because that's what I had. I guess you could use something a little pricier.

Melt some butter in a large pot. Layer onion, garlic, butter, bay and thyme. Cover and cook over medium heat. Avoid stirring for the first 5 minutes or so. Let cook until caramelized. Make sure they are good and brown, it's ok if parts burn a little, this part of the process builds up a lot of the flavor for the soup.
Next add the wine and Porchini broth and let simmer for at least another 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, set oven to broil. For each serving, toast one slice of bread under the broiler for no more than a minute. It'll burn fast so don't walk away.
Ladle soup into oven safe bowls, put one slice of bread in each bowl then top with shredded cheese. Heat under broiler for a minute or two, enough to lightly brown the top of the cheese. I found it easier to put my soup bowls on a cookie sheet.
Enjoy!
*Edit 11/12/11 Forgot to include how to make the broth. Oops!
Porchini mushrooms usually come dried so you have to reconstitute them to cook them in anything else. Instructions are on the package but basically it's just a quick boil. I usually make meal plans before I shop and plan to make something with porchinis earlier in the week and then reserve the cooking liquid for this soup.