Chicken and vegetable soup

Chicken soup for the soul...Comfort food at its best. And so easy to make.

Like all soups this one needs a good stock to start with. That is what will give the soup its true flavour. You can find  the recipe for chicken stock right here http://mykitchenbyswati.blogspot.ca/2014/11/learn-basics-chicken-stock.html
A good stock, with all the other vegetables and aromatics we add will make a really good soup.


2 litres chicken stock
1 cup cubed chicken (boneless) I usually use the thigh meat, it holds up better
1/2 cup celery diced
1/2 cup carrots diced
1/2 cup yellow onions diced
2 garlic cloves
1 sprig thyme
salt
pepper
lemon
1/3 cup pearl barley
2 tbs finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic finely chopped
olive oil

Use a big enough pot, so you don't crowd the ingredients.
Heat about 2 TBS of olive oil, add the 2 TBS chopped onion and 1  clove of garlic and saute till transparent. You do not want to brown the onion. Add the barley and saute well. You will notice a difference - the barley will feel sandy when its been sauteed well. This will take about 5 minutes.
Add the cubed chicken, Saute till chicken changes colour.
Add the celery, carrots and onions. Give it a quick stir and add the chicken stock. Drop in the whole garlic cloves, the sprig of thyme. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cover and let it cook, till the barley is soft.
Fish out the thyme and the garlic cloves. Add a healthy squeeze of lemon. Check for seasoning.

A perfect meal for a winter evening.

Soups and Stews - Mushroom Soup

This soup tastes nothing like the one out of the can. Just takes a bit of patience - brown the mushrooms in butter for a while and you will get a beautiful rounded out flavour to the soup. I make it with vegetable stock if I want to serve it to vegetarians- but beef or chicken stock is great in this soup.
I use crimini mushrooms- but mini bellas or regular white button mushrooms will work as well.


4 cups mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup yellow onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic peeled
8-10 sprigs of fresh thyme tied together
1 TBS sherry
1 TBS AP flour
1 TBS salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3-4 TBS good olive oil
2 TBS butter
1 cup cream (half and half)

In a stock pot, add the oil, butter and the sliced mushrooms. Saute them on medium heat till they brown well - this will take about 20 minutes at least. Add the chopped onion and the garlic cloves and continue sauteing till the onion is translucent and the mushrooms start to caramelize. Do not hurry this step- this is what will flavour the soup.
Add the sherry and saute till the alcohol smell is gone. Add the flour and saute till the raw flour taste is gone.
Add 6 cups of stock, salt, pepper and drop the bunch of thyme in and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and let cook for 45 minutes.
Pick out the thyme bunch and blend the soup till smooth. You can either use an immersion blender or a regular blender. If using a regular blender make sure you fill the jar only about 1/3 full at a time.
Add the cream and check seasoning. If you prefer a thinner soup, use either water or stock to thin the soup. Do not use cream to thin the soup- or it will get too rich.
Bring to a boil before serving.

You can serve it with a crostini in the bottom of the bowl or a dollop of mascarpone on top. You could reserve a few browned mushrooms before adding the stock to garnish the soup.
Go ahead - I promise this will take the edge off the winter chills.

Carrot Soup

We so love our soups in winter. The stores are full of lovely squashes and root vegetables and they make lovely soups.
This carrot soup has a hint of ginger to give it a kick.


3 TBS butter
2 lbs carrots sliced
1 large yellow onion chopped
1 TBS grated or chopped fresh ginger
1 TBS ginger juice
6 cups stock
salt
pepper
1 cup heavy cream
juice of half a lemon

Melt the butter and saute the onions till translucent. Saute the carrots and ginger for 5-6 minutes. Add the stock (you can use chicken stock or vegetable stock) and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer till the carrot is soft. Blend the vegetables with an immersion blender till smooth.
Season with salt and pepper. Add the ginger juice. ( just grate ginger and squeeze out the juice) and the heavy cream.
Finish with the lemon juice.

Serve garnished with cilantro leaves or serve with a dollop of sour cream.