Yankee Cook’s Chicken Soup

Somehow, whenever I’m feeling under the weather, no matter how tired I may feel, I find myself in the kitchen making this soup. Partly because for me, cooking is a relaxing activity and I hardly notice the effort, but also because I see chicken soup as a valid cold remedy. Honey doesn’t hold a candle to schmaltz in soothing a sore throat.

The thing with using chicken soup as a cold remedy is that not just any chicken soup will do. Opening up a can of chicken soup isn’t going to cut it. It has to be homemade. Simmering fresh vegetables and chicken into a stock creates a deep steep of flavors, fat and chicken essence that will clear the head better than any over the counter decongestant. Boneless, skinless chicken breast isn’t going to cut it either, because the end result misses the beneficial extracts from the chicken’s skin and bones.

I like to use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs to get the benefits of simmered chicken bones, but ease of removal once the stock is complete. I also like to utilize larger, tougher vegetables for the stock and save the smaller, sweeter ones for the soup. The thinner carrots and inner ribs of celery are much sweeter, more tender and make for a better texture in soup. A quick ten minute simmer once the soup is assembled, rapidly braises the vegetables without cooking all of the vitamins away.

Noodles add texture and act as a vehicle for all of the goodness, and along with hearty morsels of chicken and sweet vegetables, you have a what may be the closest thing to a cure for the common cold. Up next, Yankee Cook creates a recipe for world peace…

Chicken Soup -Makes 8 – 10 servings

2 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh
4 celery ribs – two tougher outer ribs and two soft  inner ribs
1 celery heart (the inside of the celery bunch, leaves and all)
4 carrots – 1 large and 2 thin carrots
2.5 quarts water
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
6 sprigs of parsley
1 t sea salt
2 cups fine egg noodles

Begin by making the stock. Loosely chop the two outer celery ribs and the large carrot. Rinse the chicken if desired and place in a large stockpot. Add celery, carrots, three sprigs parsley, salt and water.

Cover and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and adjust the lid so that steam can escape. Simmer for 1. 5 hours.

While the stock simmers, prepare the vegetables for the soup. Peel the two thinner carrots, split lengthwise and cut into 1 inch strips. Split the celery ribs and also cut into 1 inch strips. Remove leaves from the last 3 sprigs of parsley and finely chop.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the thighs from the water to a cutting board to cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile uncover the stock and simmer on medium for an additional 15 minutes. Remove vegetables and discard. Season to taste. Allow to rest off heat for about 5 – 10 minutes to allow the excess fat to rise to the top.

Remove the skin from the cooled chicken thighs and discard. Harvest all meat and loosely chop.

Using a ladle or spoon, remove any excess fat from the top of the stock. Raise heat to medium. Add chicken, noodles and vegetables. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Serve hot and feel better.

Ingredient origins: Organic Chicken – unknown; Organic celery – unknown; Organic carrots – California; Onion – unknown; Parsley – Massachusetts; Sea salt – Maine; Egg noodles – Missouri

Tarragon Chicken Salad

Whenever I roast a chicken, we always have lots of meat left over. Reheating is fine, but not ideal because the meat tends to dry out.

This recipe makes good use of the leftover dark and white meat from roasted chicken without the need to reheat. Tarragon’s mellow flavor is a good match for the balsamic vinegar’s sweet tang, and the mayonnaise holds down the fort. Tarragon Chicken Salad makes a great lunch when served on bread with spinach.

Note: I like to finely chop the dark meat and cube the white meat to preserve its texture.

Tarragon Chicken Salad – makes 4 – 6 servings

2 1/2  – 3 C chopped roasted chicken – dark and white meat
2 T chopped fresh tarragon
2 t balsamic vinegar
1/3 C mayonnaise
salt to taste
In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise with tarragon and balsamic vinegar. Add white and dark chicken meat. Combine thoroughly until the mayonnaise mixture is well incorporated into the chicken.

Serve on the bread of your choice or with a salad.

Sage Brined Poached Chicken Breast

While boneless skinless chicken breast can sometimes be dull and dry, this recipe is not. Brining meat helps to soften the muscle tissue and leads to a more tender and moist texture.

As the chicken soaks in brine, the dried sage reconstitutes, infusing the water and lending a subtle flavor to the chicken. The olive oil also imparts its flavor on the chicken, in addition to keeping the meat from drying out as it cooks. Meanwhile, the salt remaining on the meat from the brine seasons the cooking liquid.

Sage Brined Chicken Breast – serves 2 – 4

2 – 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 C water
1/4 C fine sea salt
2 T dried sage
1/2 C chicken stock
1/4 C olive oil

In a small mixing bowl (or the marinating dish you’re about to use – it’s your kitchen, not mine), dissolve the salt in the and water and stir in thyme. Place boneless skinless chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish and pour the brine over the chicken. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat oil and stock in a deep skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from brine and place directly into pan (normally I’d say rinse it off first, but in this case, the brined meat is being cooked in a liquid, so the salt will dissolve as it cooks and saves you seasoning it later). Cover and poach for 5 minutes. Flip the meat, cover and cook another 5 minutes. Remove the lid and cook an additional few minutes until the temperature reaches 160 degrees.

Serve with vegetables and a nice whole grain like brown rice or quinoa (which technically isn’t a whole grain, just FYI). Drizzle with the juices and olive oil from the pan.

Ingredient Origins: Chicken – New Jersey; Sea Salt – Maine; Sage – Unknown; Chicken Stock – Colorado; Olive Oil – Italy

Roasted Chicken au Naturel

Chicken au Naturel gets its name from its simplicity. Sure, chicken can be roasted with all sorts of herbs and spices that will lend additional flavor to the bird, but sometimes it’s nice to let the flavor of the meat speak for itself. This recipe uses just butter, salt and pepper. The key to getting the chickeny-ness out of the chicken without a rotisserie is to flip it every so often to allow the juices from the bones to melt into the meat and basting regularly keeps the meat moist.

Any root vegetables or tubers are great to add to the bottom of the roasting pan in the last hour or so of the process. As they roast along with the bird, they absorb some of the drippings and form a crisp brown crust. In this case, I added carrots and turnips. Serve with a salad of spinach, mache or mixed greens to round out the meal.

Roasted Chicken au Naturel – serves 4

1 5 lb chicken
2 T butter
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in an oven-proof dish as the oven gets to temp.

Rinse chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Brush the the bird inside and out with melted butter. Sprinkle salt and pepper inside and out as well. Fold the flaps in and, using kitchen string, tie the legs together. Tuck the wings under the bird. I can never get mine to stay that way as it cooks, so I like to tie a string around the bird where the wings are folded.

On a rack in a roasting pan, roast the chicken breast side up for 30 minutes. Flip and roast breast side down for 15 minutes. Baste and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

Remove from oven again and this time flip the bird over so that it’s breast side up again. Add any veggies that you plan to roast. Baste the bird and the veggies and return to the oven another 45 minutes – 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes.

The chicken is finished cooking when the meat at the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165. All the bird to rest for 10 minutes before transferring to a serving platter and carving.

Ingredient origins: Organic Chicken – Colorado (I settled for organic this time rather than local), Organic turnips and carrots – Massachusetts, Butter – Maine

Chipotle Chicken Tostadas with Guacamole

I’d never seen a dried chipotle pepper until last week. As much as I enjoy criticizing its overuse in recent years, I’d never actually cooked with chipotle.  Since it was available at that moment, I picked some up without a plan. Then, over the weekend our cilantro plant was looking a little heavy for its new pot, so I decided to prune it back and make guacamole.

What’s better than guac and chips? Guacamole and tostadas apparently. In this case Chipotle Chicken Tostadas. I have assimilated.

Chipotle Chicken Tostadas with Guacamole - serves 2 – 4

1 T canola oil
1/4 C + 1/4 C chipotle en adobo sauce (recipe follows)
1 lb thinly cut boneless, skinless chicken breast, lightly salted
1 1/2 – 2 C guacamole (recipe follows)
1/4 C fresh cilantro
1/2 C sour cream
6 six inch frozen corn tortillas

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a shallow bowl, coat chicken in 1/4 cup of the chipotle sauce. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high. Place chicken in pan and cook for 5-6 minutes, on either side until done. Remove from pan and place on a cutting board. Julienne the chicken, and move to a warmed serving dish.

While the chicken is cooking, heat the tortillas on a greased a baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes.

Assemble tosadas with guacamole, chicken, and sour cream, cilantro and the excess 1/4 C chipotle en adobo.

Chipotle en Adobo Sauce – makes about 2 cups

8 whole dried chipotle peppers, stems and seeds removed and diced
1/4 C onion, diced
1 large clove of garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
3 C water
1/4 t salt

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a low boil. Turn down heat, and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. Blend in food processor until smooth.

Guacamole - makes about 2 cups

4 avocados, pitted, peeled and chopped
1/4 C onion, diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and diced
Juice of one lime
1/4 C cilantro, chopped
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and mash with a fork.

Ingredient origins: Canola oil – US and Canada, Antibiotic-free Chicken – New Jersey, Cilantro – Massachusetts, rBST free Sour Cream – Vermont, Corn Tortillas – Massachusetts, Organic Avocados – Mexico, Organic Onion – Massachusetts, Organic Garlic – New Jersey, Lime – Mexico, Dried Chipotles – Mexico, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar – California, Tomato paste – California