Remembering Old Man Winter

Lately, winter has been on holiday leave. Climate change, Global warming , whatever it is, temperatures this year have been above what they use to be.

 Today however, temperatures dropped , inside and outside, and  I could sense the fan club longing for something that would warm us up , inside and outside.

So what better way to do this than warm up over a good bowl of light Chicken soup.

Homemade Chicken Soup and Cheese Tortellini
Chicken  Soup for the Soul
Ingredients 

2 chicken breasts
4 chicken thighs
1 medium sized Italian green pepper (cubanelles)
3 large carrots , cut in to halves
4 celery stalks  ,  cut into large pieces
4 -6 small red pototoes ,with skin
1 small shallot
Italian Parsley 

EVOO, S/P

My trick to chicken soup is to remember to keep the ingredients to a minimum. This means limit the amount of veggies, especially the aromatic ones such as onions.

In Italy, for example, our chicken soups, were made with some unfortunate old hen, and a few veggies.  Our simplest variant included only a few pieces of carrot, and a bit of parsley. The result was a very light soup, perfect for those times when one is not at one hundred percent.

Preparation Notes: 

Folks,  this recipe is not very complicated to do .  Trim the meat, and eliminate any excess fat. Toss all ingredients in a large pot with 3 - 4 quarts of water  Simmer for about 2 hours over low heat.  If fat does surface, attempt to remove some of if with laddle. I tend to like to cook the meat a bit longer so that it can fall off the bone when touched with a fork.

Serve with tortellini, rice or pastina.Undercook these so that they do not overcook when added to the broth.


Nice to feel cold once in a while, and then warm up to some home cooked goodness.

Salute !


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