“Get Well Soon” Chicken Soup

The comfort of home in a bowl of chicken soup

I have to admit something: I do not understand soup. Yes, I enjoy a delicious small drop in an amuse glass, but anything else seems like a waste of an opportunity to eat something ‘proper’ – I want to bite into my food; not drink it.

But here I was cooking soup…and you know how I got there?

Well, despite the fact that I live in a big city, it is more like a village sometimes.
Let me explain:

When I walk through town I might have to dodge hordes of tourists,  but as soon as I get close to home I recognize, and greet, the old lady walking her dog; I catch a glimpse of my neighbour through the window and he waves at me; I chat to the guy next door as she we let ourselves in the house.

I might live in the center of a buzzing city full of distractions, but my little neighbourhood is a quiet, friendly and warm community. We know each other by name and we take care of each other.

So when I go food shopping I sometimes take a list from the elderly lady down-stairs. When I make a special treat, I take some if down stairs for her. But then, when she is ill, she does not like to eat. It becomes unbearable to watch her shrinking even further… so I had to bring out the big guns and resort to my mother’s secret weapon: Chicken Soup.

….and my neighbour got better……

So, although I might not like soup, how could I not share the recipe for this miracle cure for all ailments – a common cold, a nasty flue, a hangover and even the blues.

 

Ingredients
1 organic chicken (preferably a soup chicken, but a regular one will do)
250g of mixed soup vegetables (onion, carrot, leek, celery, parsley)
optional: 1 potato
1 cube of chicken stock
100g crème fraîche
2 tbsp flour
optional: cooked spagetthi or vermicelli
parsley

Recipe

1. Put the chicken in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to a simmer.
2. Chop and add the vegetables (and potato if using).
3. Cook for about 60 min for a soup chicken or 30 min for regular chicken.
4. Remove the chicken from the stock and allow the meat to cool enough to handle.
5. In the meanwhile pour the stock through a sieve into another pot.
6. Rub the vegetables trough the sieve into the stock.
7. Add the stock cube.
8. Add the flour to the crème fraîche and blend.  Then stir in a few tbs of the stock at a time until the crème fraiche is smooth and runny (this is to avoid lumps when you add it to the stock).
9. Stir the crème fraiche into the stock.
10. Allow the soup to simmer for about 10-15 min, until there is no taste of flour left.
11. Optional: cut the spaghetti or vermicelli into small pieces and carefully reheat in the soup.
12. Pluck the chicken meat off the bone (resist nibbling on it).
13. Add the meat to the soup.
14. Chop the parsley and stir most of it into the soup.
15. Serve with a sprinkling of parsley.

Advertisement

• chicken
• low-carb
• make ahead