Caramelized Onion and Shiitake Soup with Gruyère–Blue Cheese Toasts

Earthy shiitake mushrooms and pungent cheese toasts give this soup more heartiness than classic French onion soup. For a light main course option, pair with a salad that's lightly dressed so it doesn't overpower the soup.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• Soup:
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 8  cups  vertically sliced yellow onion (about 2 pounds)
• 5  cups  sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 10 ounces whole mushrooms)
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 2  thyme sprigs
• 1/2  cup  dry white wine
• 1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 
  Toasts:
• 12  (1/2-inch-thick) slices French bread baguette, toasted (about 6 ounces)
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) grated Gruyère cheese
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) crumbled Gorgonzola
• 1/2  teaspoon  finely chopped fresh thyme

Preparation

1. To prepare soup, heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 15 minutes or until almost tender, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until deep golden brown (about 40 minutes), stirring occasionally.

2. Increase heat to medium. Add mushrooms to pan; cook 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. Stir in garlic and thyme sprigs; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high. Add wine to pan; cook 2 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. Add broths to pan; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs.

3. To prepare toasts, preheat broiler.

4. Arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Top each bread slice with 1 teaspoon Gruyère and 1 teaspoon Gorgonzola. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle chopped thyme over cheese. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 6 bowls; top each serving with 2 toasts.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

208 (23% from fat)

Fat:

5.4g (sat 2.3g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:

8.9g

Carbohydrate:

33.4g

Fiber:

3.9g

Cholesterol:

9mg

Iron:

2.1mg

Sodium:

694mg

Calcium:

115mg