We love the restorative properties of good chicken
soup. We have been buying it from the Kosher section at Checkers for years and
keep a litre in our freezer for those days when we are feeling a bit wobbly and
some winter bug or other is beginning to overtake our life. However, they seem
to have left out the chicken recently and Lynne decided to make her own. We had
a large chicken this week and on day three, still quite a lot of meat on one
leg and on the carcass, she sacrificed it to the pot. It is not rocket science,
you just need good vegetables. This was quite astounding as, when we ate it, it
was full of umami flavours. And yet, no salt had been added, just some real chicken
stock. Use a stock cube if you must, but make sure it actually contains some
chicken, not just MSG
One cooked chicken carcass, not picked completely clean - one cooked leg of chicken - 2 celery stalks, finely chopped - 3 carrots, finely chopped - 2 leeks, finely chopped - one turnip, finely chopped - two cloves of garlic, sliced - 3 T celery leaves, finely chopped - 2 T parsley with stalks, finely chopped - ½ litre good chicken stock - 2 bay leaves - 1 t fresh thyme - 5 whole peppercorns -seasoning: white pepper and salt to taste
First, cut off as much good chicken meat as you can from the carcass and the leg and keep aside. Put the carcass and any bones from the leg and the skin into the pot and add all the vegetables and the stock. Cover with water and simmer for about 1½ to 2 hours. Check the pot every half an hour and when the carcass looks as though it is about to fall apart, immediately remove it with the bones and skin from the pot. Remove any more bits of chicken on the carcass that can go back in the pot, then discard the carcass, skin and bones. Taste and adjust the seasoning if you need to, adding white pepper and a little salt if it needs it. You can add some soup noodles at this stage and add back all the chicken pieces you have saved, cook for another 10 minutes until the added chicken has been boiled and any noodles are cooked. Serve as a meal with crusty bread
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
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