Recipes: 3 hearty ways to make chicken soup at home

It’s all about the broth. OK, maybe not all, but the cornerstone of a tasty chicken soup is in the savory liquid made of water in which bones, meat, fish and/or vegetables have been simmered. In the bowl, the soup is best when the broth is tasty enough to be eaten alone, although the broth-alone cup is generally thought of as a potential cure when cold season hits.

I often use store-bought rotisserie chicken to build flavor into my chicken broth.  I salvage the bones and skin and plop them into a Dutch oven. Although it’s more economical to just use water, I add four cups of store-bought chicken broth along with 4 cups of water. I appreciate the flavor that the boxed broth adds. Vegetables added to the pot vary depending on what I have in the fridge. Usually I throw in a few stalks of fresh parsley, a couple of onion quarters, as well as some carrots or celery.

I bring the mix to a simmer on high heat, and then reduce the heat to medium-low to low, cover, and gently simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. I pluck out and discard large bones with tongs, and then strain the remaining hodgepodge into a bowl through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the bits and pieces left in the strainer with a spatula to extract as much broth as possible. Voila!

Soup-based meals can be delicious as well as practical, many recipes providing enough for two meals, but of course that depends on the crowd-size at your table. At my house I freeze half of it to serve in a few weeks when the timing is right.

Lemon Chicken and Orzo Soup

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, finely diced

8 cups chicken broth

2 sprigs fresh thyme

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup orzo

6 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

2 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

PROCEDURE

1. Melt butter in large saucepan on medium heat. Add onion; cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add broth, thyme sprigs, salt and pepper. Bring to boil. Add orzo and cook until tender, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from heat and discard thyme sprigs.

2. Whisk egg yolks and lemon juice in bowl until combined. Whisking constantly, slowly pour yolk mixture into hot soup off the heat. Stir in chicken, cover and let sit for 10 minutes, until chicken is heated through. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chives. Serve.

Source: Cook’s Country magazine

Fast Chicken Wonton Soup

This is a bare-boned rendition of wonton soup, a quick-to-prepare weeknight concoction that is open to tweaking. The tasty flavor of the chicken broth described in the story is a welcome addition. If you like, add soy sauce to the broth along with a small amount of Asian-style sesame oil to boost the flavor.

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 medium-sized leeks

3 to 4 baby bok choy; see cook’s notes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

6 cups chicken broth

12-ounce package Trader Joe’s frozen Chicken-Cilantro Mini Wontons

1/2 cup shredded cooked boned and skinned chicken

Juice of 1/2 to 1 lime

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Hot sauce, to taste, such as Frank’s RedHot or Sriracha

Garnish: 3 green onions, thinly sliced including half of dark green stalks

Garnish: Chopped cilantro

Cook’s notes: If you would prefer, a tablespoon of soy sauce can be added to the mix when adding the lime juice, along with 1 teaspoon Asian-style sesame oil. Different greens can be substituted for the bok choy if you like, such as baby spinach, chard or kale. Even cabbage.

PROCEDURE

1. Prep the leeks and bok choy: Trim root ends and stalks from leeks, leaving just the white and light green portion. Cut in half lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 3/8-inch slices; place in small bowl of cold water and swirl to remove any dirt. Drain and set aside. Next, cut baby bok choy into lengthwise quarters and swirl in cold water to remove dirt. Drain and cut into crosswise 1/2-inch slices. You need about 3 1/2 to 4 cups. Set aside.

2. In a Dutch oven or pot, heat oil on medium-high heat. Add leeks and ginger; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil on high heat. Add bok choy and boil for 30 seconds. Add frozen wontons and chicken; boil for 1 to 2 minutes (generally the wonton float to the top when they are ready).

3. Remove from heat. Add juice from 1/2 lime, salt and pepper. Taste (very important step) and adjust seasoning (I usually add more lime juice). Add hot sauce to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with green onions and cilantro. If desired, pass hot sauce at table for those who prefer more spicy heat.

Cold-Cure Chicken Noodle Soup

This simplified version of chicken noodle soup benefits greatly from having a very tasty broth (see story). In my culinary training, I was taught to cook pasta separately, to prevent the broth from becoming cloudy. I abandon that teaching when cooking informal family-style dishes.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

8 cups chicken broth

2 carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups dried egg noodles

3 cups shredded cooked boned and skinned chicken

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

PROCEDURE

1. Place broth in Dutch oven or pot. Bring to simmer on medium-high heat. Stir in carrots, celery, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5 minutes.

2. Stir in noodles; cook until noodles and vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in shredded chicken and chopped parsley; cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

Source: America’s Test Kitchen Five Ingredient Dinners” from America’s Test Kitchen

Have a cooking question? Contact Cathy Thomas at cathythomascooks@gmail. com.