De sopa y amor, la primera es el mejor.
Of soup and love, the first one is the best.
-Old Spanish Proverb
Nothing says spring like snow melt flooding your garage and a cold flooding your head. Just when it seems like you should be spending more time outside, a last-minute case of the ick catches you off guard and makes extended hibernation look awfully inviting. For those of you who are sharing my seasonal sniffles, I present a special treat lauded in song and story as the cure for all ills; chicken soup.
Whether it's homemade or fresh from the can, chicken soup has been present in the human diet for roughly as long as we've had domesticated fowl. Not surprisingly, many very different cultures prescribed chicken soup as a panacea. Maimonides, a Jewish scholar and physician living in the Moorish city of Córdoba in the 12th century, recommended chicken soup as a soother for asthma attacks in his treatise On Asthma. Prescriptions for chicken broth were common in medieval Europe, and Chinese medicine has used blends of chicken and herbs for millennia. What went into the pot with the chicken varied depending on local availability and practices - virtually anything that tasted good with the highly versatile meat found it's way into a recipe at some point.
When most Americans think of chicken soup today, it is the iconic Campbell's label that floats to the top of our minds (thanks, Andy Warhol and a billion exposures to advertising over the course of a lifetime!). While canned soups can be delicious and, often more importantly, highly convenient, once you've tasted a good homemade chicken soup you will forever carry it as a hallmark of what soup ought to be. The following is an easy recipe for chicken and rice soup that I use on cold winter nights when nothing will do but a flavor that has comforted mankind through the ages:
Ingredients: 1 pound chicken; 2 cups long-grain brown rice; 1 cup sliced carrots; 1 cup sliced celery; 1/3 cup diced onion; vegetable or chicken bouillon.
Directions:
1) Cut chicken into 1-inch or smaller cubes and heat in a frying pan until it begins to brown. Flavorings are optional at this stage - I like to add a little olive oil, rosemary and thyme to the chicken while it's cooking.
2) While the chicken cooks, fill a crock pot or regular large pot 2/3 full of water. I personally recommend using a pot that can hold around 5 quarts; larger or smaller batches may need more or less of the base ingredients. Bring up to a low boil. Add your bouillon, following the instructions on the packaging. Add rice and allow to cook, keeping the container covered stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.
3) If your vegetables haven't yet been sliced, use the remaining time while the chicken cooks to prepare them. Add to the boiling water as soon as they are ready.
4) Once the chicken is cooked, add it to the pot.
5) Keep the soup on a low boil until the rice and vegetables are cooked, stirring occasionally. Once all the ingredients are amply cooked, the soup can be eaten immediately or left to simmer, covered, for up to several hours. The longer it heats the thicker and more flavorful it will be.
6) Make sure you store any leftovers in a timely manner. I like to freeze the extra soup so that I have a quick and tasty dinner option for in the near future.
There are tons of optional veggies that could be added to this soup depending on the maker's tastes, including peas, broccoli, squash, corn, and many more. Fresh biscuits (and yes, I do count refrigerated dough as fresh, especially when you've just made soup from scratch) or, for the really ambitious, fresh bread are great sides to this meal.
Anyone who tries this recipe or a variation of it, or who has their own favorite version of chicken soup, is encouraged to leave a comment.
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