Moorish Chicken Soup

moorish chicken soup

I was vaccinated earlier his week and a couple of friends warned me that I might have flu like symptoms, so being prepared, I bought a chicken to make chicken soup. I didn’t expected to blog anything, particularly since I’ve blogged chicken soup before. Several days past, with no symptoms whatsoever, so I got on with making soup regardless. It commenced normally, but while making the stock, el Duende sat on my shoulder and convinced me to change course …it all started with whispers of cumin – the result being a Moorish Chicken Soup, which tasted so good, it had to be posted. For a description on what makes something Moorish, see my post here.

Chicken Stock recipe:

a 3lb chicken
1 large onion (cut into 12 pieces)
6 cloves garlic (squashed and peeled)
1 stick celery (chopped)
1 large carrot (chopped)
cilantro/coriander stalks
a few sprigs rosemary, thyme, sage
2 bay leaves
sea salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
3 pints water
extra virgin olive oil

Brown a medium chicken in olive oil and once it has taken some colour, add the chopped onion, followed by the other vegetables. Give them a few minutes in the hot oil before pouring on about 3 pints of water, with the herbs and seasoning.

Bring the stock to a simmer and skim off any foam floating on top of the liquid. Cover and cook gently for an hour in a preheated oven at 160ºC.  Turn the chicken over half way through to cook it evenly. When done, remove the chicken and allow it to cool. Pick out the vegetables and herbs (discard them), then sieve the liquid to remove any impurities. When the bird is cool enough, chop the meat into bite sized pieces, after removing all the skin and bones.

cilantro

Chicken Soup recipe (serves 6):

the meat from a poached 3lb chicken
3 rashers smoked streaky bacon (chopped)
1 large Spanish onion (chopped)
6 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 large carrot (chopped)
1 large stick celery (chopped)
1 large green capsicum pepper (chopped)
1 preserved lemon (chopped)
1 dessertspoon tomato purée
2 large squirts anchovy paste
a pinch of ancho chilli (chopped)
a pinch of chipotle (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon pimentón de la Vera picante
1/2 teaspoon pimetón de la Vera dulce
1/4 bunch coriander (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 dessertspoon plain flour
2 bay leaves
3 pints chicken stock
extra virgin olive oil

preserved lemons

While I was cooking the stock, I started to think I should add cumin to the soup. Chilli seemed to go with that and I’d seen Karen’s Mexican Chicken Soup earlier in the week along with a fabulous documentary on Diana Kennedy. I was intending to squeeze the juice of a lemon over the finished dish (just before serving), but once the  turmeric went in, preserved lemon was a must!

Start by frying the chopped onion in olive oil, until it becomes translucent. Add the bacon and cook until it has changed colour. Stir in the carrot, celery and garlic followed by the green pepper (after a few minutes). Sprinkle on the dry herbs, chilli, pimentón and flour. Mix to make a roux. Pour in half a pint of stock to make a paste. Chop the preserved lemon (removing any pips) – this goes into the casserole along with the tomato purée, anchovy paste, coriander and bay leaves.

pimentón

Add the remaining stock and stir well. Simmer and cover the casserole, then remove to a preheated oven at 160ºC for a couple of hours. Check the soup every 30 minutes or so – above I added  pimentón de la Vera later (but it would normally go in before all the stock – I was making things up as I went along, according to taste). Do adjust the seasoning as you see fit. I left the lid off for the final 30 minutes, so that a skin formed on top.

sopa de pollo

This is a wonderful restorative soup, which will leave you with a pleasant rosy glow. Aside from the obvious Moorish flavours, the citrus taste had a beautiful hint of orange blossom to it. Serve with toasted sourdough bread and butter with a glass of Gall Negre (Black Cockerel) from the Penedès.