Tana Ramsay’s new cookbook, Home Made, focuses on making wholesome, honest food either in a pinch or with an entire afternoon stretched out in front of you. Her Comforting Chicken Soup will take care of just about anything that ails you!
Serves 4-6
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 50 minutes plus cooling
Ingredients:
1 chicken weighing about 1.25 kg/ 2 ¾ lb
1 stick of celery, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and halved
2 leeks, white parts only, cleaned, trimmed, and chopped
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
1 sprig of tarragon
50g /2oz butter
2 tbsp plain flour
100ml/ 3 ½ fl oz whipping cream
1 tbsp dry sherry
Salt
1 small bunch of chives, finely sliced, to garnish
Directions:
- Choose a saucepan, with a lid, that fits the chicken and allows a little room for other vegetables. Put the chicken into the centre of the pot and surround with the celery, carrot and half the leeks and onions. Threw in the bay leaf, peppercorns, tarragon and a generous pinch of salt and pour over enough water almost to cover the bird, leaving the top of the breast clear. It will poach in the steam. Put on the hob and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Put on the lid and cook very gently for 1 ½ hours.
- When the time is up, remove the heat and allow to cool for as long as it takes to remove the chicken safely. Put the chicken to one side.
- Pour the cooking liquor through a fine sieve into a clean pan and discard all the vegetables and seasonings. Boil the liquor until reduced to about 1 litre/1 ½ pints.
- Meanwhile, in a clean pan, melt the butter on a medium heat and add the remaining chopped onion and leek. Fry until soft, but not coloured. Add the flour and stir well to make a smooth paste around the vegetables. Fry for a couple of minutes, then gradually stir in the reduced cooking liquor. Increase the heat and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then liquidize in batches.
- Return the liquidized mixture to the saucepan and bring back to a simmer. Add the cream and sherry.
- Using your hands, remove the breast meat from the chicken carcass, discarding the skin. Shred the meat into very small pieces and add to the soup. Season with salt to taste and serve in warm bowls, sprinkled with the chives.
Looking for more comfort foods? Try:
From Home Made. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. copyright © 2008 by Tana Ramsay. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
