Chicken Soup Recipe

Hello and welcome all my home chefs, to Chicken Soup Recipe day, wherever we go in this world, somewhere, it will be chicken soup day.

Awhile ago we visited our friends Dave &Antoinette,  Antoinette made us this great........ and I mean great chicken soup. 

We travelled some 600km to taste this exquisite soup. Dave warned us that if we did not enjoy it then we would indeed be "stoopid, stoopid, stoopid. He was right.!!

As soon as I finished the first bowl I became like Oliver Twist pleading for more.

• 8  chicken thighs with skin.
• 2 med size onions.
• half (½) a head of chopped cabbage. (remove outer layer before chopping and set aside for your doggies, see further on).
• ½ punnet of sliced mushrooms(125mg).
• 4 stalks of celery.
• 3 potatoes peeled and cubed,  plus 1 potatoe cubed set aside for later. (For Banting chicken soup, rather use cauliflower/sweet potato).
• 3 chopped tomatoes.
• 750 ml chicken stock.
• 500 grams cubed mixed frozen carrots, peas, beans and sweetcorn.
• one level tsp sweet basil.
• one level tsp oreganum.
• 3 sprigs thyme. 
• sea salt, black ground pepper to taste (a little caution with the salt, as the broth also contains salt).

The Ingredients all gathered and ready for cooking

• In a large skillet (frying pan) brown your chicken thighs.
• Remove thighs from the pan. 
• Add your chopped onions and garlic and cook until translucent.
• Add your chopped cabbage and stir for approx. 3 minutes.
• Now, all my fellow cooks, add your chopped tomatoes and continue stirring.
• Add your chopped celery and stir.
• Put the chicken back.

Time to transfer all your ingredients into your pressure cooker.

• Transfer all the ingredients from the skillet to the pressure cooker. 
• Add 500 ml of chicken stock.
• 3 cubed potato's (Banting followers should use sweet potato).
• Enough boiling water to cover.
• Origanum.
• Sweet basil.
• 3 sprigs thyme.
  
• Seal your pressure cooker and steam until potatoes (sweet potato) are soft, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Release the steam and then....... 

• Remove chicken meat from bones and skin (put skin aside for your loyal pets)
• Chop or shred chicken meat.
• Using a potato masher, mash all the ingredients while they are still in the cooker.
• Add one cubed potato, (sweet potato) sliced mushrooms, 500 grams diced mixed veggies together with the chicken.
• Seal cooker, bring back to pressure and steam for a further 15 minutes.
  

Plating

What I love about soup dishes is that there are so many different ways of plating:

• In a lage soup bowls with croutons
• In a big soup mug,
• With fresh bread, any make, shape, size or type, they all go well with chicken soup. 
  
  

P.S. For those who want to add a bit of "oomph" to their soup a few drops of Tabasco sauce does the trick.

And I would like to thank Antoinette for sharing this soup recipe with me and allowing me to share it will all my Home Cooking Chefs.

Right....Let's spoil the Dogs!!

Use the potato skins and the outer layer of the discarded cabbage and the chicken skin.   We can make a great treat for them to add to their crunchies.

• Potato skins from the potatoes used in the soup.
• Outer layer of the discarded cabbage.
• Chicken Skin

• Boil the chicken skin together with the potato skins and the outer layer of cabbage (chopped)
• Add half cube of chicken stock to this and simmer for 10minutes.
• Allow to cool somewhat and pour over your pets food,
• They will love you for this!!

This article was printed from Home-Cooking-Haven.com.com

Oven Temp's

Cooking Terms and Tips

Al Dente: Usually applied to Pasta, means cooked until just done, but not soft. The pasta should still maintain some "bite:

Barbeque:  To cook foods over coals, known as a Braai in South Africa (The best in the world for this type of cooking).

Baste: To moisten food for added flavor and to prevent drying out while cooking.

Blanch: To cook briefly in boiling water to seal in flavour and color.

Bouquet Garni: A tied bundle of herbs, usually parsley, thyme, and bay leaves that are added to flavor soups, stews, and sauces but removed before serving.

Braise: Two cook first by browning, then gently simmer till done.

Bread: To coat with crumbs or cornmeal before cooking.

Broil: To cook on a rack or spit during or over direct heat, usually in and on top.

Brown: Two cook over high heat, usually on top of the stove, to brown food.

Caramelize: To Heat sugar until it liquefies and becomes a syrup.

Core: To remove the seeds or tough woody centers from fruits and vegetables.

Cream: The butterfat portion of milk.   Also to beat ingredients, usually sugar and a fat, until smooth and fluffy.

Cube: To cut food into small ½ inch cubes.

Cut In: To distribute a solid fat in flour using a cutting motion, with 2 knives used scissors-fashion or a pastry blender, until divided evenly into tiny pieces.  Usually refers to making pastry.

Croutons: These are tiny cubes of toasted or fried bread, used as a garnish.

Coriander:  Also known as Dhania.

Dollop: A spoonful of soft food such as whipped cream or mashed potatoes.

Dot: To scatter butter in bits over food.

Dress: To coat foods such as salad with a sauce.  Also, to clean fish, poultry or game for cooking.

Drippings: Juices and fats rendered by meat or poultry while cooking.

Drizzle: To pour melted butter, oil, syrup, melted chocolate, or other liquid back and forth over food in a fine stream.

Experiment:   Always keep to the basics, but, take out and put in spices etc. to your tastes.

Fines Herbs: A mixture of herbs, normally parsley, chervil, chives and tarragon used to flavor fish, chicken and eggs.

Glace: To coat foods with glossy mixtures such as jellies or sauces.

Julienne: To cut into long thin strips match-sticklike in shape

Macerate: To soak in flavoured liquid; usually refers to fruit

Picked Over:  If you are working with lentils or other beans you might sometimes find a few little rocks that managed to sneak their way in, picked over means to make sure there are none left in what you are going to be using.

Poach: To cook gently over very low heat  is barely simmering liquid just to cover.

Puree: To mash or grind food until completely smooth. Usually in a food processor, blender, sieve, or food mill.

Ragout:  The basic method of preparation involves slow cooking over a low heat.

Reduce: To thicken a liquid and concentrate its flavor by boiling.

Render: To cook fatty meat or poultry - such as bacon or goose - over low heat to obtain drippings.

Sear:  To brown surface of meat quickly over a high heat, to seal in juices.

Simmer: To cook in liquid at just below boiling point, with only a few bubbles breaking the surface.

Skim:  To remove surface foam or fat from a liquid.

Seep:  To soak in a liquid just under the boiling point to extract the essence i.e. Tea.

Truss: To tie whole poultry with skin or skewers so it will hold its shape in cooking.

Whip: To beat eggs or cream with a wire whisk, eggbeater or electric mixer which increases the volume as air is incorporated into the eggs or cream.

Zest: The outer, colored part of the peel of citrus fruits.

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