James Klucharits has the charming earnestness of someone only a few years out of culinary school. When the sous chef of ABV in New York City talks about his recipe for onion soup in the latest edition of the Sous Chef Series, the 2011 French Culinary Institute grad underscores the importance of developing layers of flavor. From the deeply caramelized onions that give the soup body, to the concentrated beef stock that underpins its savory flavor, to the final cap of bronzed cheese, which acts as salty counterpoint to the sweet onions, this soup is a classic example of building flavor from the ground up.
And in contrast to flash-in-the-pan, time-sensitive recipes, this one requires that you take it slow–an ideal winter weekend project.
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