A couple of weeks ago, I was in a mood for a nice soup. The weather was cool, one of the last cool snaps of the season. There are wonderfully complex soup recipes, I wanted something quick and simple.
1 Onion, chopped fine
Saute in butter and olive oil until soft
Add:
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
a handful of mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3 or 4 carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
Two boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 3/4 inch cubes
Saute for 5 - 10 minutes
Add 2 - 3 cups chicken stock
Handful of green beans sliced into 1/2 to 3/4 inch chunks
1/2 cup fresh peas (frozen would work fine)
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Serve with crusty bread.
This is a basic chicken vegetable soup. Ready in 45 minutes or so.
You could add rice, or noodles while it simmers. Rice takes about 20 minutes to cook and absorbs a lot of liquid. Noodles cook a bit faster, and absorb less liquid. You will want to add chicken stock as needed.
Adjust the volume of chicken stock to reach the ratio of liquids to solids you want. I prefer a denser soup - less liquid.
A pantry staple for me, is boxed chicken stock. Find one you like, keep a couple of boxes on hand. I have made my own, and yes it is often richer and more dense, but the commercial stock works well.
Chicken Stock
Onion, roughly chopped, saute in olive oil and butter.
4 or 5 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
3 or 4 carrots peeled, and roughly chopped
Chicken bones - fresh, or roasted, or frozen.
Add water to cover, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, simmer 1-4 hours. The longer the more flavor. It is done when the connective tissue on the ends of the bones breaks down. Strain, filter, cool, store in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze. Stock freezes well.
The veggies are flavorless, when it is done, they have given their all to the stock, toss them. You can add other various veggies.
I'm not a soup eater in summer...but ill file this for when I start up my soups again...sounds delish.
ReplyDeleteIt is cold weather food. Next week I have a hot weather, cold soup, a real surprise - promise you will try it before you turn up your nose.
DeleteBeautiful photo. I read the post, I think. Something about wanting something quick and simple, crusty bread... commercial stock... various veggies.
ReplyDeleteIt does involve a sharp knife and a hot stove, you could do it, you could do almost anything
DeleteAt the beginning of the year I bought a soup maker. It’s like a large kettle with a stick blender in it and will turn a motley collection of veg into a delicious soup in less than thirty minutes. It has transformed our lunches and made good use of our fridge bottom findings!
ReplyDeleteSoup is a nice way to use up what is on hand. I keep onions, carrots and celery on hand all of the time.
DeleteI am not really fond of soups but I like my own pea and ham soup, which takes three days to make to its deliciously mature state. I like a tomato soup that's a bit spicy, an onion consommé which we used to be able to buy in a Campbell's tin. While not fond of goulash, I adore goulash soup.
ReplyDeleteSome things truly are better after a day or two
DeleteOne thing I dislike about summer is the absence of Soup Weather ...so I make a nice Gazpacho every so often.
ReplyDeleteSidenote: Martha, Stewart you know, taught me a little secret. When cooking regular meals, save the bits and end of veggies you do not use [carrots, onions, celery, pepper, broccoli, whatever] and freeze them in a sealable bag. When you want to make a nice soup, put the thawed veggie bits, some unpeeled garlic cloves, and pieces of chicken in water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about an hour until the chicken is done. Strain the broth and toss the veggies. Unpeel the garlic and whisk into the broth, dice the chicken, then add fresh veggies and bring to a boil and let simmer for a while, and you have a lovely soup.
That looks easy and thrifty
DeleteSounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteIt was good, next week is a cold soup for summer weather
DeleteSoup can be real comfort food! Like you, I prefer a denser soup.
ReplyDeleteOne nice thing about home-made soups is being able to personalize
DeleteLovely soup !
ReplyDelete