Parmesan and Lemon Chicken Soup

Season chicken thighs generously with salt. Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking lightly. Place thighs skin-side down. Do not move them. Cook 5–6 minutes until the skin is deeply mahogany — the color of a good decision. Flip and cook 2 minutes more. Remove and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of rendered fat. Add diced onion to the skillet. Cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and taking on color at the edges. Add sliced garlic, cook 1 minute until fragrant. Do not let garlic burn — if it does, you added it too late in the previous step and this is your fault.

Pour chicken broth into the skillet, scraping every browned bit from the bottom — that is flavor and it belongs to this soup. Nestle the browned chicken thighs into the liquid. Bring to a vigorous simmer, then reduce to medium-low. Cook 15 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender.

Remove chicken and shred or dice it. Squeeze the lemon directly into the broth. Taste. Adjust salt. Add shredded cheddar in handfuls, stirring until fully melted and the broth turns glossy. Return chicken to the pot. Ladle into bowls.

Drizzle 1 tsp olive oil over each bowl. Serve immediately. There is no garnish — the lemon and cheese are doing that job.