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Golden Chicken Soup
Yield: makes 6 quarts
Ingredients for the broth:
- 1 whole chicken (3 ½ pounds), salted in advance (page 281)
- 2 yellow onion, unpeeled and quartered
- 2 celery stalks, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
- Small handful of parsley sprigs or stems
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
- 1 3-oinch piece ginger, sliced into thick coins
- 1 lemon, halved
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 5 1/2 quarts water
- 1/4 teaspoons saffron threads, ground and bloomed
- 5 cardamom pods, cracked
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Ingredients for the soup:
- Kosher salt
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 lemon
- 3 celery stalks, very thinly sliced
- 4 carrots, very thinly sliced
- 1 large bunch Tuscan kale or curly kale, tough stems removed and thinly sliced (optional)
For serving:
- Lemon wedges
- Cardamom ghee
Instructions:
- To make the broth, cut the chicken into 6 pieces (leg quarters, breasts, and wings) and place them in a stockpot along with the carcass, onions, celery, carrots, parsley, bay leaves, garlic, ginger, lemon halves, and salt. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer. Use a fine-mesh skimmer or slotted spoon to skim any scum from the surface and discard. Add the bloomed saffron, then swirl a little hot broth in the mortar to coax every bit of saffron into the soup. Stir in the cardamom, peppercorns, turmeric, and cayenne and continue simmering the soup until the breasts are cooked, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove the breasts from the pot and set aside to cool. (Pierce through to the center of the breast with a paring knife to check doneness; return meat with any sign of pink to the pot to keep cooking for a few minutes longer.)
- When the legs are cooked and the meat is falling off the bone, 25 to 30 minutes longer, remove them from the pot, strip the meat from the bones, and return the bones to the pot. Continue simmering the stock for an additional 30 minutes, for a total cooking time of 11/2 hours.
- When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred it into a bowl and set aside, discarding any gristle or cartilage you encounter. If you like chicken skin, you can chop it into tiny bits and add it into the pile of shredded meat to add back into the soup. Otherwise, discard the skin along with the gristle. (I’ve found that using all of the meat from chickens larger than 31/2 pounds can overwhelm this soup, so if you prefer a brothier soup, hold back at least a breast’s worth of meat—use it to make Chile Crisp Chicken Salad, page 313!)
- To finish the soup, strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a very large bowl or container. Rinse out the pot, then return the broth to the pot along with the shredded meat. Bring to a simmer, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and lemon juice. Add the thinly sliced celery, carrot, and kale (if using). Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes, then taste and adjust the seasoning again.
- Serve with lemon wedges and cardamom ghee for everyone to add as they like.
- Cover and refrigerate chilled soup for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months. Bring to a boil before serving.
