Since I have caught Baby Josiah’s cold, I felt the need for some soothing homemade soup today. I generally love making and eating soup. Jay enjoys the eating part. The children love to join in the making part, but not the eating part so much. I continue in my motherly efforts to introduce them to many different types of homemades soups, in hopes that someday they may gain an appreciation for soup as a wholesome and comforting meall!!
The following recipe is a combination of an online recipe I found, along with some modifications I made to suit my purposes. The ingredients needed for this dish are pretty inexpensive, especially if you can buy your whole chicken on a good sale. Preparation was easy, if a little time-consuming, and the results were delicious, and (miraculously!) enjoyed by all five members of our family who eat at table.
Garlic Chicken Soup
1 whole chicken
1 1/2 cups baby carrots
2 stalks celery
1 large onion
2 heads (not cloves, but the entire heads) of garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbs dried parsely
salt/pepper to taste
4-6 small potatoes, washed and diced (not peeled) – I used Gold Petites
4 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
3/4 cup white wine
Rinse chicken and discard or keep giblets, depending on if you like them for flavor. In food processor, mince: carrots, celery and onion. (I did them separately but I’m guessing you could combine them if you have room in your chopper.) Separate the cloves of garlic, but do not peel them. Put all this into a large stockpot and fill with water to cover all. Add seasonings.
Boil/simmer for about 2 hours, loosely covered, until broth is thick and rich, and chicken is cooked through and very tender (leg should loosen from body when you attempt to grab at it with tongs). Remove chicken for deboning.
Pour broth through a colander or sieve, reserving garlic cloves for use in soup. I used a colander with holes large enough that some of the minced vegetable pieces ended up in the final broth. I think it added something. After broth has sat for awhile, skim fat from top. Reserve broth till needed.
Into same pot (don’t wash it yet, folks!) put potatoes with water to cover. Boil till tender.
While potatoes are boiling, prep your chicken and your garlic: Carefully debone entire chicken, shredding and reserving meat. Extract pulp from garlic cloves (I just squeezed each clove, and the garlic inside popped out!).
Drain finished potatoes. Using SAME stockpot still, add butter and when it’s melted add your mushy garlic cloves. Add flour to this, whisking all to smooth the mixure. Add the white wine, keep whisking. Add broth back to pot, with chicken, and vegetables. Note: I didn’t end up using ALL the chicken meat, but kept back about 1 1/2 cups to make chicken salad. It was moist, flavorful chicken!
Bring soup to a low boil and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve and enjoy!!
