Typically my soups are one-pot deals, covered with partially thawed icebergs of stock that have been fished out of the depths of the freezer. They are born of emptying the crisper drawer and cranking the heat because I’m hungry and hurried. After asking Kristian for this recipe I procrastinated making it because it looked kind of long-ish and involved. For soup. But this isn’t your typical chicken soup. Have you tried it? It’s really, really good. Intense, extraordinary chicken soup. I think it’s just the soup to pull you out of bed a little earlier than usual this weekend, so you can steam up the windows, coffee in hand, and make an heroic winter’s lunch. No? That’s not enticing? Well, then, you might like to visit the cafe for a bowl. And leave with a coffee in hand.
This is a tampered-with version of Kristian and David’s intense chicken soup.
4 litres chicken stock
1 whole chicken
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp mustard seed
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups carrots, diced
2 cups fennel, diced
2 cups leeks, white part only, diced
1/2 cup green beans, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup orecchiette pasta, that’s what our chefs use, I had conchigliette on hand, cooked until just tender
several stems of parsley, divided
a few sprigs of thyme
1/2 a stem rosemary
1/2 a sprig oregano
salt, to taste
2 scallions, finely chopped
You first must buy or make some chicken stock. And then roast a chicken. I bought a decent chicken, about four pounds, and poured a little olive oil over, salted lightly, and roasted it for an hour and twenty minutes at 350°, which works out to twenty minutes per pound. Leave the oven on, increasing heat to 400°, and while the chicken rests and cools, prep your vegetables and set them aside. Toast the fennel, coriander and black peppercorns in a dry pan over medium to high heat, shaking to keep the heat even, until they become hot and fragrant. Tie these toasted spices, the mustard seed and bay leaf into a cheesecloth sachet and set aside. To be honest, I didn’t use a cheesecloth sachet, though it sounds lovely. I put all my spices into a stainless steel tea ball. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull off the salty, crispy skin and eat it discard, and then pull off all the meat, shredding it into bite size pieces as you go. Set aside. Now return the stripped carcass to the oven and roast for about 45 minutes, just long enough to crisp the bits and give it an all-over sizzled glow. Place the roasted carcass into a large pot along with the chicken stock and sachet or tea ball of spices. Bring to a simmer and reduce until almost half, skimming as necessary, you’ll end up with approximately 2 1/2 litres. Strain, discard carcass and spices, and set aside. Heat remaining olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add onions and garlic, sweat until translucent and add celery, carrots, fennel and leeks. Add reduced stock and simmer until vegetables are almost cooked through. Add green beans and cook for a bit longer, until all vegetables are tender. While soup is simmering, tie together half of the parsley with thyme, rosemary and oregano to make a bouquet garni and add to pot. Stir in frozen peas, cooked pasta and pulled chicken, heat through and season to taste. Remove and discard bouquet garni and ladle soup into warmed serving bowls, garnish each with finely chopped parsley and scallions. Nice work. It’s probably time for lunch now.
