Recette chef Jesse Schenker recalls working in restaurants where French onion soup was made with “a ton of beef paste.” His alternative is this refined, delicious ode to the onion. Braised, shredded oxtail forms the base for a tangle of caramelized onions and a cloudlike “espuma,” an onion, oregano, wine and cream purée that’s been aerated with a nitrous oxide iSi siphon. The secrets to the deeply flavored consommé, added to the bowl tableside, are chicken feet stock, beef bones and the classic Escoffier technique of adding whipped egg whites, tomato paste and beef scraps to create a “raft” that collects impurities before being removed, leaving a beautifully clear broth. Topped with baton of gruyère, this is your classic onion soup, re-imagined in Schenker’s signature style: a mix of modern and traditional techniques that somehow retains the comfort food quality of the original.