I haven’t been feeling the best so I’ve been cooking up a lot of comforting, savory soups and broths. I love the rich taste of a broth from scratch, flavors are so much more distinguishable—the mirepoix, turmeric, onion, garlic, and tender chunks of chicken. They truly don’t take too much time or attention, which is helpful for a sometimes distracted chef like myself.
We snatch up rotisserie chickens pretty often; our favorite is the Smart Chicken, cooked rotisserie style, from our local New Leaf market. A few other fresh ingredients, key seasonings and rice/noodles if you so desire and you find yourself with a beautifully golden, rich and fragrant chicken soup!
Chicken broth and soup from scratch
The broth:
1 rotisserie chicken
1 white onion
5 large carrots, chopped
1 bunch celery, chopped
One bunch of parsley
Thyme
Rosemary
Peppercorns
To begin, remove the white meat from your chicken and set aside. Also remove the dark meat and put away for another dish you decide to make, we won’t need it now (pot pie for example).
Place the remaining chicken carcass (bones and all) and chopped veggies, herbs and peppercorns in a large pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3-4 hours, or in my case, forget about it for awhile! When your home is full of that delicious broth fragrance, it is time. Strain with a mesh strainer and discard the remaining items, or compost, or feed them to a cute pig nearby.
For the soup:
Your fresh homemade broth
White meat, set aside from earlier
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bunch celery, chopped
5-6 carrots, chopped
A few tablespoons kerrygold butter
Garnish: parsley, dill or scallions
Optional: rice (a few cooked cups) or noodles (toss in a few handfuls of dry pasta towards the end)
Begin by browning your onion and garlic in a pan with olive oil. Take a few ladles full of broth to deglaze your pan and add to your pot of broth, along with mirepoix. If you would like to add rice or noodles, do so and when halfway cooked, add your chicken and let all your flavors settle in. At this point, your soup should appear shiny, golden and you’ll definitely be enjoying the aroma as it nears completion.
If you could do with a little extra fat content, you may decide to add some tablespoons of Irish butter. Some add chicken fat at this point, this is delicious too. Double check your starch is cooked to completion, garnish to your liking (parsley, scallions, dill, hot sauce, crushed red pepper or what have you) and enjoy!
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