When I was a child, growing up in Amsterdam, my uncle Freddy had a restaurant with wonderful homemade food. We used to go there every sunday night and enjoy a warm chicken soup as a starter. He taught me that great food has three basic ingredients: Love, patience and the best quality products.
I always remembered his words and over the years I have learned through my own experiences that he was very right! The more I find out about food, the more I want to learn and that doesn't only include how to cook a recipe. I want to know where the products are from and that has made me try to grow vegetables in my garden. My future dream is to have some animals running around too, maybe some chicken and some pigs. But first I have to learn what they need to have a good life and then I have to learn to take my distance from them, cause one day they will end up in my kitchen ! Not so easy, but it's how people used to live and still do, so I made a little test with myself and went through the whole process of getting a fine quality chicken from my neighbor and getting it "ready" to be cooked.
I must say that this soup tasted different than ever before. And now I can say that I feel a bit less of a city girl who knows nothing about farming and only knows how to cook !
Ingredients:
1 chicken
1 onion (peeled)
1 large carrot (peeled)
1 leek (cleaned)
2 pieces of celery (cleaned)
2 bay leaves
half a cup of rice
1 1/2 liter of water (or more)
2 eggs
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper
Put the chicken together with the onion, the carrot, the celery, the bay leaves and the leek in a large pan.
Add enough water so that the chicken is covered and bring to boil.
Once the water boils you lower the heat and let it simmer for about an hour.
Take out the chicken and let it cool.
Take out the vegetables and add the rice to the pan, let it simmer until the rice is done.
Season the soup and debone the chicken.
Now I would like to propose to you to make a typical Greek augolemono sauce, because I'm sure you'll find it as delicious as I do.
It's a sauce which is added to soups and stews and it needs a bit of concentration from the cook, cause it shouldn't curdle.
Some chefs use only the yolks with added cornflour. Some cooks beat the yolks and whites separately.
Beat the eggs for a few minutes, then beat in the lemon juice. Slowly add 6 spoons of hot(never boiling or the eggs will curdle) stock, beating all the time.
Add the chicken to the pan and whisk the sauce into the soup.
Serve immediately .
Serves 4 people.
With love,
esther.
