Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Soothing

One of the worst things that can happen to a person who loves cooking and eating good food, is a bout of gastritis. I have never experienced anything like this before and let me tell you, it is not pleasant.

All I'm able to eat for the past few days is chicken soup, boiled vegetables, crackers and low-fat cheese a.k.a. your basic nightmare, or at least mine.

I'm feeling better today and hopefully I'll be fully recovered in a couple of days. Till then, let me have another spoonful of this homemade chicken soup.






Dedicated to all of you out there who have the flu, stomach problems, those of you who want to soothe your tummy for whatever reason or those of you who simply want to detox.

For obvious reasons, I was unable to take any photographs of the soup while I was preparing it. These photographs were actually taken the third day into eating this soup, when all the vegetables and chicken were already consumed by yours truly and I was down to eating just plain old chicken broth. Ah, the glamor of food blogging, right?





Soothing Chicken Soup with Vegetables

You can add whatever vegetable you want to this soup. It's a good way to clean out your refrigerator of all those vegetables you haven't had the chance to use.






Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 whole small chicken, about 1 kg
1 large onion, peeled
2 large carrots, peeled and cut in half crosswise
2 large parsnips, peeled and cut in half crosswise
100 ml (about ½ cup) olive oil
1 vegetable or chicken bouillon (stock) cube
Tap water, cold
Salt
Pepper


Preparation
Place the chicken inside a large pot. Add the onion, carrots, parsnips, a little salt and pepper and the bouillon (stock) cube. Add enough water to almost cover the chicken and add the olive oil.
Turn the heat on to high and bring to the boil. Then turn heat down to medium-low and put on the lid. Allow to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked (it should be falling off the bones) and the vegetables have softened.
If you want (I didn't), as the chicken is simmering, you can skim the fat/foam that collects on the surface of the water.

Turn off the heat, remove the onion from the pot and discard it. At this point, you can remove the vegetables and cut them into smaller pieces (I didn't bother doing that either).
Remove the chicken and place it on a tray or platter. Allow to cool down enough to handle. Pick the meat off the bones and cut them with your hands or a knife into bite-sized pieces.

If you want, you can pass the soup through a fine sieve. (Do I have to state the obvious and say that I didn't do that either?).

Return the vegetables and chicken pieces to the pot, check and adjust the seasoning, and serve.

It keeps excellently in the fridge for 3-4 days.






19 comments:

  1. Magda, I hope this broth cures you and you can go back to indulging in whatever wonderful things come out of your kitchen soon!

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  2. I made some chicken stock for Christmas and I have to admit homemade chicken stock is great!

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  3. Get well soon Magda, Miracle Chicken broth will work!

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  4. Ahhh thanks - I have been having tummy problems actually. Going to make this tomorrow - it looks very healing! Hope you're feeling better.

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  5. I actually love soups like this. Clean, pure and salty. But it really helps when you're sick!
    Hope you feel better soon. I hate it when my stomach hurts...

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  6. Hope you are better today. I love homemade chicken stock. One question: is there a particular reason why you discard the onion, besides personal taste? I usually eat it.

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  7. Hope you're feeling better soon Magda. When I'm ill I make chicken broth with ginger and soy to ease any nausea. Sometimes I also drizzle a beaten egg into hot broth for some extra protein.

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  8. Hello all and thank you so much for your wishes! I'm feeling much better today. This chicken soup works wonders (I made it again yesterday evening). The trouble is that last night I had a dream about eating chocolate. That's what they call withdrawal symptoms, right?

    Nuts about food — I never eat onions when I'm sick or having tummy problems but you can definitely keep the onion in the soup and enjoy it.

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  9. My daughter had it too the week of Xmas! Hope you feel better soon and thanks for the soup; next time I make it I will add some parsnips!

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  10. Next stop: avgolemono??? SO sorry you've not been feeling well. Take care and keep dreaming of the chocolate - it's not far off! :)
    ~ David

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  11. Food blogging in the winter has its distinct disadvantages---more chance of illness, and less opportunity for good light. nonetheless, your images still have to power to soothe. be well, Magda!

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  12. Madga, glad you are better now! And that chicken soup, I already I will love it.

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  13. A most useful recipe for sure, but I'm sorry you did not feel well ..

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  14. Hope you are feeling better. There's nothing better than a chicken soup when you are not feeling well. Perastika!

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  15. Ciao, mi chiamo Patrizia e sono italiana. Ho visitato il tuo blog e volevo farti i complimenti per le ricette di cucina.
    Anch'io ho un Blog dove di tanto in tanto pubblico ricette tradizionali della cucina italiana. Se vuoi, puoi venire a trovarmi e lasciarmi un commento. Mi farai piacere. Grazie, un saluto e buona giornata!!!

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  16. What a lovely little blog - I just found you through 101 cookbooks and am really enjoying going through the archives. I hope you feel better soon!

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  17. Hey love the blog! Ok so this may sound a bit random, but I wanted to bring it to your attention. I ve bookmarked a bunch of your recipes in a recipe folder. However I end up never using them because there is nothing in the title of each post Ive saved to suggest what that particular recipe is for. Anyway, I really do love the blog, it is obvious you do everything with love and meraki. Keep it up!

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    Replies
    1. Hi there! Thank you for your suggestion. Hmmm you do have a point and I have to consider that.
      Is there a way to add some note next to your bookmark perhaps?
      It always makes me happy when people say they like my blog and recipes so thank you! I do hope you get the chance to cook something from here!

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    2. ugh im such an idiot! you can actually edit the bookmark title when you save it :) so dont consider it, it's actually kinda cool your posts dont have titles like "makaronia me kima".. my sister visited a while ago and i got her to bring me some katiki cheese over, so i think i will be having me one of your courgette-cheese tower-y thingies very very soon!! all the best :)

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