Basic Stocks

It has been said that a cook’s reputation rises or falls by the quality of her soups. A soup must be substantial enough to satisfy and at the same time light enough not to slacken enthusiasm for what follows. What an easy way to gain a reputation, for with the best home-made stocks you can provide a whole series of delicious soups, from the world-famous soupe à oignon of the French (onions melted in butter and moistened with rich beef stock, served with grated cheese and rounds of toasted bread) to the pride of the Greek cuisine, avgolemono (a handful of cooked rice, eggs whisked with the juice of a lemon and some fine rich chicken stock), a gold-tinted soup that is deliciously creamy and fresh.