Don't Be Chicken About a "Little" Soup

Although my favorite chicken broth recipe “Monday Night Homemade Chicken Broth”, stored in my cookbook, Amelia’s Kitchen, has passed the approval stage of the best broth, I’m always picking up new ideas and shortcuts, as everyone should, to shorten the method. Cooking to me means, “how can I do this differently?” 

Today I bought 2 “little” inexpensive 3-pound chickens, #1 is for making broth to freeze for Thanksgiving soup and the other one is Sunday dinner. I borrowed the wings and back and fatty parts of chicken #2 and used them in my broth. Then placed chicken #2 in a *brine of cold water to cover with 2 teaspoons of salt and 2 teaspoons of sugar and placed it in the refrigerator for roasting later.

The Chicken Broth:  Brown chicken #1, with the backs and wings from chicken #2 in olive oil on medium to high flame until it forms a caramelization at the bottom of a large soup pot. Start with the breast side turning it over with tongs inserted into the body of the chicken; brown the back of the chicken.

While the chicken is browning and filling the house with warm feelings of anticipation, wash 1 medium unpeeled onion; cut it into 8 parts, 3 whole garlic cloves with skin intact, the green tops and outside layers of 2 leeks, cut in 2-inch pieces, 2 unpeeled scrubbed carrots, the trimmed top of a head of celery with the leaves, 2 whole stems of fresh dill and 6 sprigs of rinsed parsley.

Next open 2 cans of chicken broth (14.5 ounces) and add to the browned chicken with 5 cans of water. The sizzling liquid will pick up the browning flavors. The chicken should be almost covered with just the top part of the breast peeping out.  Add all the prepared vegetables, ¼ teaspoon of dried sage and thyme or double the amount of fresh herbs (if you have them left from your garden) and 1 bay leaf.  Season broth with ¼ each salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for about 40 minutes until chicken is cooked and falling off the bone.

Strain broth into a colander placed over a large pot. You can *discard the vegetables although the carrots are my treat. Season broth with salt and pepper; cool and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Before using remove the *solidified fat and heat to a boil, but do not boil. Before freezing broth, remove the solid fat, portion into containers or small freezer bags (easy to stack) labeled with the date. Broth has many uses such as a base for chicken soup, vegetable soups or gravy. 

The Chicken: transfer the chicken to a rimmed baking sheet and let cool. Remove the skin and bones; shred with a fork and use for another dish such as Chicken- Broccoli Stir-Fry, Chicken Salad, Chicken Pot Pie or any recipe that requires cooked chicken. It will keep in a tightly covered container for a couple of days so you can decide what to do with it.

*NOTES:

*Brining cleanses and tenderizes the chicken. Chicken only has to stay in the brine for an hour but it won’t hurt to leave it in longer. 

*There is an Italian woman friend that puts the vegetables through a food mill right back into the soup; another idea.

*Lovingly called “schmaltz,” chicken fat is a traditional ingredient in many savory, ethnic Jewish dishes such as Matzo Balls. It is often used as the fat of choice in meat dishes since it’s a no-no in Kosher cooking to mix milk products (like butter) in a meal that contains meat. There are a lot of cooks that use this flavorful fat in cooking instead of butter.

Here is a quick recipe for chicken soup:

Chicken “Little” Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, thinly sliced

1 leek, white part only, sliced

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

2 sprigs of fresh Thyme

2 tablespoons fresh snipped dill

8 cups prepared homemade chicken broth

1-1/2 cup cooked chicken *see note

6 ounce package baby spinach 

¾ cup orzo, pastina or other small pasta shape

Salt and pepper, to taste

½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Sauté the vegetables

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. *If using raw chicken, add now (see note); cook for 4 minutes. Add the carrots, leek, celery, and sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes more. Add the homemade broth. Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer for 15 minutes to blend the flavors. 

Cook the pasta

 Add the pasta to the simmering soup and cook until the pasta is al dente, 3 to 4 minutes, or according to the package instructions. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until the spinach has wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. 

Warm soup bowls on a baking sheet in 170 degree oven. Ladle the soup into the warmed bowls and sprinkle with some of the cheese. Serve immediately and pass the remaining cheese at the table. If not serving right away, cook pasta separately and add to the soup when about to serve. Serve 4

*Note: Frozen broth with no chicken? – use 1 large boneless chicken breast, chopped, and cooked with the vegetables before adding broth.

Other vegetables to consider adding: escarole, Swiss chard, zucchini or squash.