Roast Shallots with Chicken Stock

This classic way to prepare Shallots is an excellent way to showcase the deep, rich flavors of Shallots. The Shallots will have a beautifully charred outside with a tender and delicious flesh that simply flakes away when cut into. These amazing Roast Shallots with Chicken Stock are a fantastic side dish that will pair with loads of proteins like Fish, Chicken, Pork, Lamb, Beef, and just about anything else you can think of. They’re super-simple to make and one of the best ways to enjoy this wonderful Vegetable

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How to make Roast Shallots with Chicken Stock

There are two key cooking elements of this dish, both of which are simple to do. The first step is to char the Shallots in a hot pan to get that wonderful charred, golden-brown sear on the outside. The second step involves transferring the Shallots to the oven where they slowly roast in a bath of Chicken Stock until perfectly cooked and delicious

Preparing the Shallots for cooking

To me a hallmark characteristic of a perfectly cooked Shallot is that wonderful char that appears on the cut-side of the Shallot. Visually, it looks amazing on the plate, but it also carries a load of amazing flavors and textures. The charring process brings a subtle smokiness and sweetness to the Shallot, and gives them a little bit of crunch, offering up a lovely versatile texture to a typical roast Shallot

First, we need to prepare the Shallots. It’s a pretty easy process. First, peel the skin off the Shallots. I find the best way to do this is to make a cut through the tail part of the Shallot so you can then simply peel away the skin

Roast Shallots with Chicken Stock Recipe — This simple Roast Shallots with Chicken Stock recipe is the best way to enjoy these amazing Vegetables

We need to cut the Shallots in half, and potentially even quarters depending on how large they are. The key here is to ensure the Shallot stays completely intact after it’s cut. To do so, cut lengthwise and always leave the Shallot attached to the root. This will keep the whole thing intact as you halve / quarter it

Charring the Shallots

Add a little bit of Neutral Oil to a frying pan large enough to fit your prepared Shallots. You want enough Oil so that the Shallots will be completely covering the Oil as they cook. It’s almost like we’re giving them a quick shallow fry before they go into the oven

Place the Shallots flesh side down (by that, we mean place the side of the Shallot that you’ve just exposed with the cut) and fry them until golden-brown and charred over medium heat. It should take about 4 – 5 minutes, but may vary slightly so just check them every few minutes or so using tongs

Once the Shallots are charred on the cut-side you can remove them from the pan and place them on a paper towel to remove any excess Oil that may have stuck to them. The next step in the process is when we Roast Shallots in Chicken Stock

Good quality Chicken Stock is key

We harp on a lot about using good quality Chicken Stock with our recipes, and it really does make a difference. The depth of flavor you can achieve in home cooking by using homemade Chicken Stock is simple leagues above anything that’s store bought

Get into a habit of storing any Chicken Bones that are leftover from meals. Just place them all into a large Ziploc Bag and store them in the freezer. Once the bag is full, you can make your own homemade Chicken Stock

We’ve got a couple of recipes that you can check out. Here’s a Classic Chicken Stock recipe, and here’s one that you can make using an Instant Pot. Both taste great and are well worth investing the time and effort into. Homemade Chicken Stock is going to be the big difference between a good dish or a great dish

Aluminum Nest for Roast Shallots — You can create a simple nest using Aluminum Foil to cook the Shallots in the Oven if required

Oven Roasting

Now that your Shallots are ready and you’ve got your Chicken Stock good to go, it’s time to cook the Shallots. We slowly roast them on a moderate heat of around 360F for 30 – 35 minutes. If you have a small roasting tray that will work perfectly, as the key to success is submerging about ¼ of the Shallots in the Stock

We don’t have any small roasting trays, so what we did instead was create a ‘pool’ for the Shallots to sit in while they roast using Aluminum Foil. It’s easy to do, just fold up the edges of some Aluminum Foil to create a nest for the Shallots to sit in

Add the Shallots to the foil pool (placed onto a sheet pan), or a roasting tray, ensuring the charred side is facing upwards and no Shallots are overlapping. Then, fill it with enough Chicken Stock to submerge the Shallots by ¼

We don’t want to completely submerge the Shallots in Stock, as they’ll just boil. We want to use just enough Stock to help them to cook and tenderize, while still maintaining the flavor and texture of Roast Shallots. I recommend giving the Shallots a basting in Stock about halfway through the cook

Roast Shallots with Chicken Stock on plate — Once cooked, simple serve the Roast Shallots with Chicken Stock as is, or top with some fresh herbs

Plating and serving your Oven Roasted Shallots with Chicken Stock

Once cooked the Shallots will be juicy and tender. Carefully remove them from the oven and place them on a paper towel to remove any excess Chicken Broth. Season them well with Salt and then you can either serve them as-is, or finish them with some fresh Herbs

Any fresh Herbs will work well. I find they add some nice brightness to the Shallots, as well as a beautiful visual contrast of the brownness that is typical of Roast Shallots. We just went with some finely chopped Chives, which help compliment the Onion flavor. You can try Parsley, Oregano, or Shallots as other suitable options. Or you can simply serve the Roast Shallots as is, as they taste amazing!

Recipe Details

Servings

2 – 4 people

Prep time

10 minutes

Cooking time

35 minutes

Total time

45 minutes