A big pot, a chicken, water and a few vegetables. So simple a prescription yet so effective a cure for the winter blahs or, worse, for that horrible cold that’s spreading like wildfire through everybody’s office.
For the sick among us, stick to the ultimate comfort food: a basic chicken soup, maybe with a few egg noodles thrown in for good measure.
But for the healthy and the hungry, consider the trillions of ways to wander from the basic.
You probably know how to make the basic chicken soup, but just in case:
Place a 5-pound-or-so chicken (whole or cut into pieces) into a big pot with a few carrots (cut into chunks), a couple of big onions (peeled and cut into chunks), about 10 parsley sprigs and 10 or so crushed black peppercorns. Add cold water to just cover the chicken and vegetables. Boil and then reduce heat and simmer about 2 hours.
Skim all that foam off the top every now and then. Bring the chicken out and, when it’s cool enough, pull it from the bones and put it back in the soup. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Throw in some egg noodles.
CHICKEN SOUP WITH LENTILS AND LEMON
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
Yield: 6 servings
3 pounds chicken pieces
2 medium onions, sliced
2 large carrots, cut into thick slices
10 cups water
1 bay leaf
Salt, freshly ground black pepper
2 small dried hot peppers, optional
1 1/2 cups lentils
4 medium garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
Lemon wedges, for serving
1. Put chicken into large pot with onions, carrots, water, bay leaf, salt, pepper and hot peppers. Heat to a boil. Skim foam and fat. Simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Pick over lentils and discard any stones. Rinse lentils and add to soup. Add garlic. Cover and simmer over low heat until lentils are tender, about 1 hour. Discard bay leaf and hot peppers. Either leave chicken in pieces or remove it from bone, dice it and return to soup. Or, reserve chicken for other uses.
3. Skim fat from surface of soup. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add parsley or cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories…………………. 480
Fat…………………….. 13 g
Cholesterol……………. 145 mg
Sodium………………… 165 mg
Carbohydrates……………. 32 g
Protein…………………. 59 g
STRACCIATELLA
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 to 5 servings
This recipe is adapted from “Faye Levy’s International Chicken Cookbook” (Warner, 1992).
2 eggs
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
6 cups chicken broth
Salt, freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1. Lightly beat eggs in small bowl. Add cheese, bread crumbs and nutmeg. Stir in a 1/2 cup of the broth. Set aside.
2. Heat remaining broth to a boil; reduce heat. Slowly pour in egg mixture and simmer, stirring constantly, 3 to 5 minutes. Egg mixture will break into tiny pieces as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper and transfer soup to individual bowls. Garnish with parsley.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories…………………. 104
Fat……………………… 5 g
Cholesterol…………….. 90 mg
Sodium………………. 1,050 mg
Carbohydrates…………….. 3 g
Protein…………………. 10 g
