Recipe: Calliope's Chicken Soup with Variations

recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2001-07-02
From: calliope,.NY

Though I am certainly not a doctor, nor do I have any training in nutrition,
I do have some firmly held beliefs about the health benefits of chicken soup and about the chicken fat in it in particular, that at least some in those fields share with me.

I believe in leaving the chicken fat in the soup. It certainly makes it more flavorful and I believe that it contributes to its power to truly help treat the common cold. Of course you must all decide for yourselves, but I think there are far worst types of fat, and there are surely other places we can cut it from in our diets. Now, on to the recipe....I’ll give you my proportions, (as best I can, not much of a measurer) but you must feel free to choose your own.

CALLIOPE’S CHICKEN SOUP...with variations...see my secret at the bottom!

1-whole frying chicken, cut up and sauteed in a little olive oil till the skin is golden adding as many garlic cloves as you like near the end of the saute.

Cover it completely with water, enough so that as it cooks down you’ll have plenty of stock when you’ve added the vegetables and, if you want, some noodles or rice or even potatoes.

Bring just to a boil, reduce to a simmer and skim off all the brown foam.

Peel one very large yellow onion and cut in quarters, add
Peel one large carrot, cut in three pieces, add
Slice one large rib of celery in three pieces, add
More garlic!...this will be a recurring theme with me, I ADORE it!
about 10-whole cloves
about 10-whole black peppercorns
3-large bay leaves
12-6 inch long fresh thyme sprigs, folded in half and tied with string.
you can use dry, but it really isn’t the same...
2- tsp. Kosher salt

*Note....never, never, NEVER used the crushed leaves! They are very dangerous and can either cut the throat or become lodged there, causing choking!!! The whole ones can easily be removed, as must the peppercorns and cloves, which are also dangerous if ingested!!!

Simmer gently uncovered for about 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot and reserve, ( see below for my ideas for what to do with the meat and soup) Also remove and discard the vegetables.
Strain the stock through a fairly fine sieve.

While the soup has been simmering, cut up at least the following vegetables in the amount you wish, sautee in more olive oil for a few minutes. Add at least one cup of white wine...or water if you prefer, lower heat, cover and simmer till tender;

onion
carrot
celery
garlic

other vegetables you may want to try;
leeks, sweet red peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, peas, green beans, chic peas, Chinese or Savoy cabbage, escarole, spinach or Swiss chard, fennel (anise) bulb, artichoke hearts.

If you want to make it a noodle soup (you could even like to try cheese tortellini) or have potatoes in it, I like to simmer them in the stock. I think they take the flavor on better that way. If using rice, I would prepare it in a separate pot adding it at the very end

When the starch is al dente, add the finished vegetables, and the chicken in pieces, unless you save it and use it in my idea below, along with some fresh chopped Italian parsley. You might also like to use some fresh tarragon or basil as well. Taste it and add more fresh thyme, salt, ground pepper if you want/need it. Turn off the heat, you’re done!
*Sometimes I add a cup of white wine to my soup too and often some fresh lemon juice as well*

*I also add some more fresh minced garlic...keeps the vampires at bay, even the motional ones, ehy?*

AND for those that missed it the first time I posted it......

Here’s what I do to stretch a chicken.

First, I make my pot of chicken stock, as usual. Then I fish out all the meat and shred it into a bowl...and while its still warm, I add some dill, salt and pepper and some currants. (you could use raisins if you want). Once its cool, I add the scallions, (or red onion, if you love onion), celery...with some leaves, parsley, chopped pecans, walnuts or cashews and the mayonnaise. Sometimes, I even add a few dashes of raspberry vinegar.

Then into the wonderful stock, I put every vegetable “the boys” like, sometimes including beans, escarole or spinach...and even a can of tomatoes and some pasta if I want to turn it into a Minestrone.

Then I can alternate the suppers. One day serving the soup with broiled cheddar or Asiago toasts....and the next, the chicken salad sandwiches with lots of nice, warm cinnamon applesauce. Doesn’t that sound lovely?

Oh my!...that one chicken certainly goes a long way.

P.S.......one of the secrets to my FABULOUS Chicken Soup..is the use of cloves!