Another Soup recipe from The Tasha Tudor Cookbook.
Recipes and Reminiscences from Corgi Cottage.
I love to make soup and can say with pride that I am famous for it. This is a real winter standby if you live in a cold climate. I make a large iron potful at least once a week, either on the wood stove or over the fire, which burns all winter. You must make this soup with a fresh farm chicken carcass, however. Those poor pallid birds that come from a supermarket just do not have enough flavor, so try to obtain a good farm-raised chicken. Roast it and enjoy it for dinner. When the chicken is eaten, put the carcass into the soup kettle and follow the receipt.
Stock:
1 chicken carcass
2 lg onions, quartered
2 carrots, cut into lg chunks
2 celeriac roots, peeled and cut into large chunks
6 cloves of garlic, minced
5 bay leaves
1 tblsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh sweet basil
1/2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen or fresh lima beans
2 cups frozen peas and carrots
2/3 cup white rice, uncooked
2/3 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 receipt Mashed Potatoes (below)
1 28 oz can B&M baked beans, with salt pork removed
1 or 2 Knorr's chicken bouillon cubes
1 large potato, grated (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp each - fresh chopped parsley, oregano, tarragon & sage
Place the chicken carcass & all the ingredients for the stock in a lg stockpot. Bring to a boil and then simmer all day long, 6 - 7 hrs. At the end of this time, remove the chicken carcass and strain the broth.
Place the frozen vegetables in a small pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Add the rice and elbow macaroni and cook until tender, adding more water as needed. Continue to cook slowly until all of the water is boiled away, then add the vegetables, rice and macaroni to the stock.
While the vegetables are cooking, make the receipt for mashed potatoes. These will be the thickener for the soup.
Pour some of the broth from the soup into the mashed potatoes, stirring to keep the mixture smooth. Stir this mixture into the soup broth and add the baked beans. Be careful not to let the soup scorch as potatoes burn easily. Crumble in the chicken bouillon cubes.
If the soup is not thick enough, add 1 large potato, grated and simmer for a bit.
Taste and add salt, pepper and small amounts of chopped fresh herbs, as you desire, taking care not to add too much tarragon.
Serves 12
Mashed Potatoes
The secret of these is a good old fashioned potato ricer, along with plenty of milk, butter, salt, pepper & a goodly chunk of cream cheese. They must be served hot. They can be kept warm over a pot of boiling water while you prepare other vegetables. The leftovers make delicious potato cakes sauteed in butter. You must use good fresh potatoes; your own garden-grown ones are the best. I raise Green Mountains, whose flavor is unsurpassed. One can always be sure spring is on the way when the potatoes start to sprout.
4 med potatoes
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup milk
4 tblsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
4 tblsp cream cheese
Peel & wash the potatoes and place them in a medium size pan, add enough water just to cover them and a small quantity of salt. Place the pan over medium high heat until the water begins to boil, then lower the heat to medium to keep the water at a gentle boil. Cook the potatoes for 20 minutes or so, until they are fork tender.
In a small saucepan, warm the milk, butter & cream cheese.
When the potatoes are done, drain off the water and put them through a ricer or mash them in the same pot. Add the warm milk mixture and whip the potatoes with a wooden spoon until they are light and fluffy. Salt and pepper to taste
Serves 4 |
