French-Israeli Onion Soup with homemade chicken stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade chicken stock ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Put the chicken, the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaves and peppercorns and the water in a pot and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam that rises during the first 15 minutes with a spoon.

   StovePot
2. 2
   Turn down and simmer gently 2.5–3 hours.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
3. 3
   Strain the stock.

   Colander

For the Fried onion

1. 4
   Heat the butter and oil in a heavy pot over low heat.

   StovePot
2. 5
   Add the onion and fry for 40 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep golden.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 6
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 7
   Add the wine and cook for 3–4 minutes.

   Stove
2. 8
   'Add the stock and the bay leaves and the thyme, season with salt and black pepper and bring to a boil. 'Turn down the heat and simmer 15 minutes.

   Stove

   💡The soup's flavor comes from the browned onion: low heat, frequent stirring and patience. Onion burned at the edges makes a bitter soup.
3. 9
   Remove the bay leaves from the soup.
4. 10
   Divide the soup among ovenproof bowls, place slice of bread on top of each bowl and sprinkle with the cheese.

   LadleRamekins / cocottes
5. 11
   Put the bowls under the oven broiler for 5 minutes, until the cheese melts and bubbles.

   OvenRamekins / cocottes