Serves 6

Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, will make this recipe overly sweet. Be patient when caramelizing the onions in step 2; the entire process takes 45 to 60 minutes. Use broiler-safe crocks and keep the rim of the bowls 4 to 5 inches from the heating element to obtain a proper gratinée of melted, bubbly cheese. If using ordinary soup bowls, sprinkle the toasted bread slices with Gruyère and return them to the broiler until the cheese melts, then float them on top of the soup. We prefer Swanson Certified Organic Free Range Chicken Broth and Pacific Beef Broth. For the best flavor, make the soup a day or 2 in advance. Alternatively, the onions can be prepared through step 1, cooled in the pot, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before proceeding with the recipe.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
With too many onion soups, digging through a layer of congealed cheese unearths a disappointing broth that just doesn’t taste like onions. The ideal French onion soup combines a satisfying broth redolent of sweet caramelized onions with a slice of toasted baguette and melted cheese. We wanted a foolproof method for achieving extraordinarily deep flavor from the humble onion—the star of this classic soup.

The secret to a rich broth was to caramelize the onions fully. The good news is that caramelizing the onions, deglazing the pot, and then repeating this process dozens of times will keep ratcheting up the flavor. The bad news is what a laborious, hands-on process this proved to be. Fortunately, we found that if we first cooked the onions covered in a hot oven for two and a half hours, we only needed to deglaze the onions on the stovetop three or four times. Just one type of onion (yellow) was sufficient, but a combination of three different liquids (water, chicken broth, and beef broth) added maximum flavor. For the topping, we toasted the bread before floating it on the soup to ward off sogginess and added only a modest sprinkling of nutty Gruyère so the broth wasn’t overpowered.

SERVES 6 TO 8

Do not use prepeeled squash in this recipe. Our favorite vegetable broth is Swanson Vegetable broth. Low-sodium chicken broth can be substituted for the vegetable broth. If you use a blender to puree the soup, fill the jar two-thirds full-not more-and process in batches. Alternatively, use an immersion blender to puree the soup right in the pot. In addition to sour cream, serve the soup with Fried Leeks (related), which provide nice textural contrast.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For soup with intense squash flavor, many recipes will roast the squash to rid it of excess moisture and concentrate its flavor. But what if you don’t want to turn the oven on? For our soup, we start by microwaving large chunks of squash to hasten the cooking process. We then slowly caramelized the parcooked squash in a Dutch oven, much as we do with onion for French Onion Soup, until a thick brown fond developed. Deglazing the pot and scraping up the fond gave the soup the deep flavor of roasted squash soup in a fraction of the time. To further enhance the soup’s vegetable flavor, we chose vegetable broth over chicken broth and used an aromatic base of leeks, fresh thyme, and bay leaf.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/atk-public/pdf/ATKRadio_Recipes_butternutsoup.pdf

Serves 6 to 8

Leftover turkey wings, thighs, or drumsticks can be used in place of the carcass.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Turkey and rice soup is a great way to make use of leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Unfortunately, all the turkey and rice soup recipes we found tasted of weak broth studded with undercooked rice and rubbery turkey. Our Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup recipe avoids these pitfalls by sautéeing and simmering the turkey carcass with vegetables and a combination of chicken broth (for flavor) and white wine (for brightness), which produced a rich, savory broth. To speed up the cooking of the rice, we added a small amount of baking soda to the soup—this helped break down the tough fibers in the rice and reduced our cooking time by about 15 minutes. Adding the leftover turkey at the very end of cooking ensured that it stayed tender.

SERVES 6 TO 8
Serve this hearty vegetable stew with crusty bread.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Italy’s ciambotta is a ratatouille-like stew chock-full of veggies that makes for a hearty one-bowl meal with nary a trace of meat. We wanted to avoid the ill fate of most recipes, which end in mushy vegetables drowning in a weak broth. In order to optimize the texture of the zucchini and peppers, we employed the dry heat of a skillet. To address the broth, we embraced eggplant’s natural tendency to fall apart and cooked it until it completely assimilated into a thickened tomato-enriched sauce. Finally, we found that a traditional pestata of garlic and herbs provided the biggest flavor punch when added near the end of cooking.

Simmer down to prevent blown out beans.

SERVES 8

We prefer the creamier texture of beans soaked overnight for this recipe. If you’re short on time, quick-soak them: Place the rinsed beans in a large heat-resistant bowl. Bring 2 quarts of water and 3 tablespoons of salt to a boil. Pour the water over the beans and let them sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans well before proceeding with step 2. If pancetta is unavailable, substitute 4 ounces of bacon (about 4 slices). For a more substantial dish, serve the stew over toasted bread.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We were determined to avoid tough, exploded beans in our Tuscan bean stew recipe, so we soaked the beans overnight in salted water, which softened the skins. Then we experimented with cooking times and temperatures, discovering that gently cooking the beans in a 250-degree oven produced perfectly cooked beans that stayed intact. To complete our bean stew recipe, we added tomatoes toward the end of cooking, since their acid kept the beans from becoming too soft.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/test-kitchen-community/2012/08/best-of-the-best-day-nine-tuscan-bean-stew/

Serves 4 to 6

If you’re short on chicken fat at the end of step 1, supplement it with vegetable oil.

Serves 6

We strongly recommend buttermilk for the dumplings, but it’s acceptable to substitute ½ cup plain yogurt thinned with ¼ cup milk. If you want to include white meat (and don’t mind losing a bit of flavor in the process), replace 2 chicken thighs with 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each). Brown the chicken breasts along with the thighs and remove them from the stew once they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes. The collagen in the wings helps thicken the stew; do not omit or substitute. Since the wings yield only about 1 cup of meat, using their meat is optional. The stew can be prepared through step 3 up to 2 days in advance; bring the stew back to a simmer before proceeding with the recipe.

Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer

To make slicing the pork chop easier, freeze it for 15 minutes. We prefer the distinctive flavor of Chinese black vinegar; look for it in Asian supermarkets. If you can’t find it, a combination of red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar approximates its flavor. This soup is very spicy. For a less spicy soup, omit the chili oil altogether or add only 1 teaspoon.

Serves 6 to 8

Be sure to buy shell-on shrimp for this recipe.

Makes about 2 quarts, serving 4 to 6

Lentils du Puy, sometimes called French green lentils, are our first choice for this recipe, but brown, black, or regular green lentils are fine, too. Note that cooking times will vary depending on the type of lentils used. Lentils lose flavor with age, and because most packaged lentils do not have expiration dates, try to buy them from a store that specializes in natural foods and grains. Before use, rinse and then carefully sort through the lentils to remove small stones and pebbles. The soup can be made in advance. After adding the vinegar in step 2, cool the soup to room temperature and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To serve, heat it over medium-low until hot, then stir in the parsley.