Now this is one of those recipes you hear about again and again and every time I taste it from a different household or restaurant, it tastes different. The only rule I believe, as in all soups, is in the quality of the stock. You can of course, go and buy fresh chicken stock quite easily but if you really like chicken soup, or roasting chickens, it makes more sense to just make it yourself. I had a recent recipe request for a chicken soup - or Jewish Penicillin as it is often called - and it happens I made it yesterday. And ate it today. Its a labour of love and was worth it, as I have loads and it freezes well.
If you have read the part of my blog from last week where I mentioned that I had guests and cooked 2 Indian style roast chickens you will know that I mentioned that you always get leftovers. But by buying two chickens gives the guests and yourselves not only plenty of meat, but a choice of cut (rather than be stuck with a leg when you wanted a breast!). When the guests left - I popped the leftovers into a large pot and covered with water. The only other addition I made was a handful of bay leaves and some peppercorns, Incidentally, although the chickens had Indian spiced butter under the skin, the flavours hardly came out in the soup. Don't get me wrong, it made a fabulous stock, but the Indian spices were so subtle I wouldn't have known the origin of the carcasses!
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| Bay leaves are so good for soups! |
I brought the chicken carcasses and water to a boil, covered with a lid and turned it down to a low simmer for about 3 hours. I then left it to cool in the stock for a few more hours while I went out. On my return I strained the stock into a large jug and put it in the fridge overnight (the fat will rise to the top and solidify which you remove when making the soup the next day). The chicken on the carcasses was picked off and popped into a freezer bag in the fridge.
I know its a two day trial, but again - it is all about the stock - and if you go to the effort above you will be so pleased to have made such a good soup! The next day I chopped up 1 leek, two carrots, 1 large onion, 2 large potatoes and 2 cloves of garlic. With a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter, I sautéed the vegetables (in the same large pan the carcasses were cooked in) for 3-4 minutes and boiled a kettle of water. Then added 3 tablespoons of flour and stirred in. You have to cook the flour out so keep stirring. After a minute, add a splash of boiling water to the pan to scrape all the goodness from the bottom. Then add all of the reserved stock along with another bay leaf and salt & pepper. Stir, partially cover and leave to simmer for an hour. Then you can add the reserved chicken along with a couple of handfuls of chopped green beans.
Fifteen minutes later, you can serve with a bit of bread and butter on the side. Bliss.
