Chicken Soup

This is as much about chicken stock; the ritual of the cooking week unthinkable without it. I would implore anyone not to feel a sense of sourcery as the big pot fills with flavour busting fresh ingredients in anticipation of the long slow simmer.  

The Chinese regard chicken soup as a good tonic for the depleted,  it's famously known to many as Jewish penecilin.  And for good reason, it revives the weary, fortifies the convalescing and makes one feel all is well with the world.  It  hits the spot like nothing else.  

The first thing is to establish a really good supply of the blessed bones.  I am almost reluctant to tell where I buy mine, for fear of finding out they are sold out.  But I will share with you...... Borough Market Wyndham House Poulty, from Hertfordshire, rears amazing chickens, all free range and fed well.   They sell carcasses for 50p.  I buy 4 at a time and make a batch, freeze and then use the stock in countless ways.  The London Farmers Market has a great stall selling chicken, game and lamb, Layer Marney of Essex.  Here also one can buy both excellent chickens and bones.   The ultimate prize is to buy a boiler, but these are hard to find and if I did have a source, I probably wouldn't tell where it is.    But where ever you are there will be a good butcher, a farmers market or a farm, so start to discover the great world of sourcing your good ingredients.  The one place you will not find them is the supermarket.

There are 2 types of stock: Class I, made with raw bones and Class 2, made with left over bones.  Obviously the class 2 isn't as strong, but has it's uses in soup making and for a veloute.  I never miss the opportunity to make a stock with the bones of a chicken roast.   This is where the higher cost of decent chicken comes  into it's own as you can make the meal keep going.  There is a left over chicken & vegetable pie to use the stock with, a risotto, a rice pilaff, spelt pilaff (as below), vegetable soup to name a few.

Stock making is deeply satisfying and of course is the backbone of all good soups, stocks and stews.  So without further ado, here is the extremely simple recipe for making a nourishing chicken stock or soup.

• 2 chicken carcasses with giblets if you can (not the liver as it causes cloudy stock)
• 2 large onions peeled
• 1 leek cleaned
• 3 sticks of celery
• 3 carrots
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 bayleaves, teaspoon pepper corns, teaspoon fennel seeds, sprigs of thyme, parsley stalks
• cold water to cover

In the photo above I used double of  everything.

Method.

Simply chuck it all together, cover with fresh cold water, bring to the boil, skim as necessary and simmer with the lid on for 3-4 glorious chicken soup smelling hours.  

If you are using left over bones and scraps, then cut up the veg into large chunks, as you simmer for 2 hours.  Any longer can make the stock bitter.

Allow this to cool then drain through a thin mesh.  Portion into different sized containers and refrigerate or freeze.

If you are making chicken soup, then you can simmer some rice noodles and bits of chicken and serve with some chopped spring onion........ or spice it up with ginger, chili, coriander for chicken noodle soup.

For a retro cream of chicken soup melt 50 gms of butter and add 50gms of flour, cook out for a minute and then slowly add the stock, blending it slowly before adding more stock until you have a thickened chicken stock, season and add a splash of cream and chives - serves 2.

Happy chicken stock making!

Ham and Pea Soup

This is a classic peasant, rustic dish which is nourishing and comforting.  Both my mother and Irish Grandmother made this,  my mum said in the 60's the butcher gave hocks away.  I love the ritual of this soup as much as the end result.  Although it may seem a dish for the colder months, it still hits the spot throughout the year.

The good thing about this soup is that you must go to a butcher or a farmers market to buy your hock, or shank.  Thus supporting our British pork industry.  Especially those who rear rare native breads.   I buy mine from Sillfield  Farm at Borough Market, where you can buy a sizeable hock for £2.95.  This is one of the cheapest cuts you can buy.  The soup is dead simple and simmers away for hours on a low heat making the home smell lovely.  

Here goes.

This will serve a really good 6 portions.

• One ham hock (smoked or unsmoked)
• one large onion peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery chopped small
• 1 leek (ideally, but not essential) cleaned and chopped
• 3 medium carrots chopped small
• bayleaf, sprig of thyme, handful of parsley stalks and all (any variation or all of them)
• 300gms green marrowfat peas (I used green, but yellow are also lovely)
• water and seasoning
• Sunflower oil

1. Place the hock in water and bring to the boil and then discard the water.
2. Fry the onion, carrot, celery, leek with the fresh herbs in oil for 5 minutes or so.
3. Plonk the hock and peas in and add water so that the hock is just covered.
4. Bring to the boil and simmer for at least 2 and half hours.  You want the the peas to be soft and mushy.
5. Remove the hock and allow to cool.  When cool enough to handle remove all the meat, shredding with your fingers.  Add to the pot and season to taste.  Be careful with the salt if you have used a cured hock.  
6. Add some fresh parsley as you serve and some lovely rustic bread.  Also a jacket potato and lashings of butter will make this a fine meal.

Thank you to Anne Carter for beautiful photography.

Wild Garlic Leaf

Ramsons - Wild Garlic Leaves

Wild Garlic Leaf Pesto

Wild Garlic Leaf Soup

Our first spring foraging beckons with the pungent smell of garlic in the woods. Ramsons or wild garlic leaves love damp and dark woods and grow in abundance from March till about May. In May they turn to seed with a delicate white flower head. Be careful to identify the wild garlic leaves from wild lilly of the valley, which looks similar, but does not smell of garlic, so easy to distinguish.

I made up some fresh pesto using the wild garlic leaf in place of basil and garlic. It worked very well. I used olive oil, but would love to try it using flax seed oil or rape seed oil, both of which are local.

Pesto

• 100gms Wild Garlic Leaves
• 200ml Olive Oil or Flax or Rapeseed
• 50gms Peccorino or any similar hard cheese
• 50gms pinenuts
• seasoning to taste

Method

Simply blend all the ingredients in the food processor and put in a jar - voila!

For some simple wild garlic leaf soup:

• 4 shallotts chopped fine or 1 large onion
• couple of generous glugs of olive oil and a knob of butter
• 500gms floury potatoes, peeled and chopped small
• 200gms wild garlic leaves washed
• 1 litre chicken stock or veg stock
• Seasoning

1. Sweat the shallots or onion in oil/butter until just about golden
2. Add the potatoes and cook for a minute.
3. Add the stock, bring to the boil, simmer for 15 minutes, until potato is soft.
4. Add the wild garlic leaves.
5. Blend and season

Try eating in the spring sunshine for an extra hit of springtimeness!