Rio Grande Chicken Soup Recipes

CALDO DE POLLO OR CHICKEN SOUP MEXICAN STYLE

Steps:

• In a large pot, place the water, chicken, salt, and garlic. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. While the broth is simmering, skim the foam that forms on top of the water.
• In a separate pan, heat up the oil on medium heat, add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn it.
• Add chopped onion and continue cooking until onion is translucent, for about 2 minutes.
• Add chopped tomato and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Add this mixture to the chicken pot.
• Stir in the carrots, celery, and potatoes to the soup and let come to a boil. Reduce heat. Allow it to simmer until vegetables cook through, about 20-30 minutes.
• Add tomato sauce, cilantro during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Check again for salt.
• Ladle soup into bowls including a piece of chicken for each serving, and serve with lime wedges and warm corn tortillas.
• Optional: Add slices of avocado to your soup.

CHICKEN SOUP FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Place the chicken, celery, carrots, onions, parsnip (if using), parsley, peppercorns, bay leaves and salt in a large soup pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to very low. Adjust the heat until the soup is "smiling": barely moving on the surface, with an occasional bubble breaking through. Cook uncovered, until the chicken is very tender and falling off the bone, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• When cool enough to handle, use tongs to transfer chicken from the pot to a container. Taste the broth and continue to simmer it until it is concentrated and tasty. Strain broth through a fine sieve (or a colander lined with cheesecloth) into a separate container. Discard all the solids from the strainer (or reserve the vegetables, chill and serve with vinaigrette, if you wish).
• Refrigerate chicken pieces and broth separately for at least 8 hours (or up to 3 days), until a thick layer of yellow fat has risen to the top of the broth.
• When ready to finish the soup, use your fingers to separate chicken breast meat from bones and skin. Discard bones and skin. Use two forks to pull the breast meat apart into soft chunks, or use a knife and cut into bite-size pieces. (Reserve dark meat for another use.)
• Skim chicken fat from top of broth and set aside. Place 3 tablespoons of the fat in a soup pot with a lid. Add leeks, stir to coat, and heat over medium heat until leeks begin to fry. Then reduce the heat to a gentle sizzle and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
• Add carrots, sprinkle with salt, stir, and cover the pot. Cook until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes more. (Keep in mind that vegetables will continue to cook in the soup.) Do not brown.
• Pour broth into pot with vegetables and heat to a simmer. Add noodles and simmer until heated through, soft and plumped with chicken broth. Add the breast meat, then taste broth and add salt and pepper to taste. For best flavor, soup should have some golden droplets of fat on top; if needed, add more chicken fat one teaspoon at a time.
• Serve immediately, in a tureen or from the pot, sprinkling each serving with herbs.

RIO GRANDE TURKEY SOUP

Steps:

• In 4-quart Dutch oven, heat broth, tomatoes, salsa, water and chili powder to boiling, breaking up tomatoes. Stir in vegetables and pasta. Heat to boiling.
• Reduce heat; simmer uncovered about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta and vegetables are tender. Stir in turkey and parsley; cook until hot.