Recipe ~ French Onion Soup

The tried, and not so true.
This weekend, we decided to make french onion soup. As a last minute change, we also decided to try a vegetarian version.
Here's how it went:
Ingredients:
1.5 pounds red onions, sliced
1 Tb unsalted organic butter (Tillamook)
1/4 tesaspoon salt
(vegetarian)
3 3/4 cups organic vegetable broth
1 oz. red wine (cab/merlot)
(more trad.)
3 cups organic chicken broth
3/4 cup organic beef broth
~Bouquet garni
(Fresh organic flat leaf parsley, dried organic bay leaf, fresh organic thyme)
1/2 Tb Balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to tase
(vegetarian)
1 1/2 Tb soy sauce
Topping:
Swiss and Asiago or just Gruyere
Baguette sliced on bias
+~+~+~+~+~+
The only difference between the veg and trad versions was that the veg had veg broth and soy sauce and the trad didn't
I found that this worked best in a cast iron dutch oven, but YMMV.

Heat the butter over medium-high heat until foam subsides, being careful not to brown it.
Add the onions and salt.
Carmelize the onions, stirring regularly. This will take about 20 minutes or more.
The steel soup pot was a challenge for this, the dutch oven, a dream.
Add the broth, wine and bouquet garni. Taste - pretty watery and kind of bland?
Simmer 20 minutes, gently loosening the fond that formed on the bottom of the pot during the carmelization.
Taste again - better? More body and fuller flavor.
Remove from heat, Carefully remove bouquet garni and discard.
Add balsamic, and if veg, soy sauce.
S/P to taste.
+~+~+~+~+~+
We had a dickens of a time finding a broiler proof crock for the soup.
Instead, we just put it into a bowl, placed the swiss and grated asiago on top, and nuked it 30 seconds.
I'm sure there's a good vegetarian french onion soup recipe. This just isn't it. I only put it here in case you were thinking it might be a good idea. It's not- there's a bit of work that need to be done with it.
On the other hand, the traditional beef broth soup was delicious. I hope you enjoy!
~e.t.~