Chicken Soup with Garlic and Ginger

Finally. Winter is here.

I am STILL trying to blow the remains of a cold out of my system. This soup helped enormously.

It was also a great opportunity to test out my BEAUTIFUL NEW KNIFE.

Wooden sheath (as well as the cutting board) made by my Dad. 

Endless thanks, Dad. 

Start with the classics: onions, celery, carrots. Dice 'em up.

Keep mirepoix to the side, and thinly slice three cloves garlic and a one to two-inch piece of ginger.

Good job, knife.

Now, sear chicken breast on both sides. This soup is heavier on the vegetables, so I only used one.

Let it rest, and chuck the garlic and ginger into the hot oil.

Yup, right in there. No cleaning.

Fry garlic and ginger until fragrant, and put in the rest of the vegetables. 

Sauté until softened, about ten minutes, then cover with chicken or vegetable stock. Shred the chicken breast and put shreds into the pot. I remembered I had some leeks in the fridge. Slice as shown, and throw in the pot as well. 

Simmer soup for about twenty minutes, then season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Best with biscuits.
Keep warm, everybody.

Let's Talk About Stock

Well, it's here. Winter. Halloween was a perfect Fall day: all hard, bright sunlight and yellow leaves and purple shadows. And I didn't even have my camera. 

Now, the second of November, it's cold and rainy and the breeze is gusting from gentle to frantic every fifteen minutes. We are in the final season, and it's time to pare down, catch up on paperwork, and think about peace and quiet and this incredible view.

Or, you know, go dancing. 

Balkan style.

Occasionally everyone needs a good shake-up to jitter and jangle the cold-weather blues out of your bones. Sure, we'll be cozy and hibernating sometimes, but that's no reason to stop moving completely; you'll atrophy. 

Thanks to Oro! Orkestra (once again) and Winehardt (making their debut on this blog) for providing me an appropriate environment to throw my limbs everywhere, spin around in circles, and dance with complete strangers while getting a headache from smiling too much.

So, the stock talk. 

Remember Chicken Sofrito? Well, the inedible leftover bits have been in my freezer, just waiting for their moment. Never throw out the bones until they've given up every last molecule of flavour they possess. 

Chicken bits.*

*In the years since I originally posted this, I've started tossing these leftover chicken bits with cooking oil and roasting them at 400 for 20 - 30 minutes, stirring/flipping them halfway, just until they brown evenly. THEN they go in the stewpot.*

You can use this broth to make lots of things. If you're braising or stewing or making soup (souping?), this liquid is so much better to use than plain water. And a great thing about it is that you can personalize it. 

Below: juniper berries, salt, fennel seeds, coriander, peppercorns, mustard seeds. This is my preference. If you want, you could throw in chicken, onions, and salt and have done with it. However, I like a little spice. 

What flavours do you like? Pepper? Basil? Parsley? You can use those if you like them. I like fennel, and onion, and bay leaves. 

These are actually the leftovers of the veggies I used in the sofrito, frozen as well. It's good to add in a couple fresh veggies though, in case the frozen ones are just bits and pieces. 

Throw everything in the pot. 

Add water to cover.

Put this on the burner at medium heat, covered with the lid. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer. This should ideally stay on the heat for three hours at least.

 If you have a slow cooker, this is a perfect recipe to throw together and leave on the counter all day on low heat. 

After simmering is done, and the broth tastes good to you (that's important!), strain the liquid using a  large colander and then a fine sieve, if you don't like particulates in your stock. 

You can freeze this in airtight containers, but I wouldn't recommend more than two months on ice. One thing you can also do is freeze the stock in ice cube trays overnight, and then dump the cubes into a ziplock bag, so you can have the stock on call in small amounts. 

You can also make vegetable stock, which is a little more complicated because you don't have bones to work from. But we'll get there another day. For now, pull on your warm socks and snuggle up to a woodstove (or go dancing); we've all earned it.

Chicken Sofrito

For Canadians, Thanksgiving has come and gone. Since I happen to possess both United States and Canadian citizenship, I'll be celebrating both in my own small way. 

Thanksgiving in my mind has gone through many different evolutions: it has been a day for remembering Christopher Columbus sailing across the ocean blue, for reviling the same man for his brutality and narcissism, for enjoying food and stuffing myself to bursting, for celebrating family, and finally, for being grateful. 

I have learned to be thankful every day for something. Today, it's warm Fall days and unraked lawns and this gorgeous cookbook, Jerusalem, from my mother. 

From this book, I made Chicken Sofrito, which is a cooking method that I love for its low maintenance and versatility. 

First, the chicken:

Featuring all the mess from last night, plus this morning's coffee. This chicken is from Jordan's Natural Acres, from whom I regularly purchase excellent eggs. Those will be coming up in the next post. 

Put the chicken breasts-down in hot oil, and sear until brown for three minutes. Flip the chicken and sear the other side for another three minutes. While this is happening (or before), make the seasoning!

This is paprika, turmeric, salt, sugar, and pepper. 

To these, add lemon juice and mix to a paste.

MIX!

It should end up like this.

Put this all over the seared chicken on both sides

Somehow, while you were doing all this, you also chopped a red onion and a bulb of fennel! 

This goes in around the chicken that you've seasoned, and now the heat goes to medium-low.

After one and a half hours of slow cookery, it should be falling off the bone.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Dessert to follow soon.