How to make great Chicken Soup

When my friend, Tammy, was sick last month, I whipped up some Matzoh Ball Soup for her and her family. I received the following response:
"My dearest,I want to tell you,that your chicken soup was one of the best I ever tasted in all my life! The chicken was sooo....succulent...and juicy! I don't know how you did it,but it was THE BEST!!!!"

Chicken soup is one of those things that can seem intimidating, but once you do it a few times, it's at least as easy as making pasta salad.

Cook time: 20 minutes in a pressure cooker or 1 hour simmering in a regular pot

Basic ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken
• 2-4 carrots - peeled, whole
• 2 stalks of celery, washed, cut into a few pieces
• 1-2 onions, washed or peeled, quartered
• 1-2 bay leaves
• water
• salt to taste - maybe 1 tsp for kosher chicken, more for a non-kosher bird (kosher chickens are salted to remove the blood.) 

Extra ingredients or alternatives:
NOTE: don't overdo leafy things or you will have a soup that looks and tastes more green than meaty.

• whole peppercorns
• fresh or dry parsley
• celery seed (I only tried it because I didn't have parsley last time, but It was GREAT!)

Southwest Chicken Salad

I have a special guest arriving today with multiple dietary challenges, including

• gluten free
• soy free
• egg free
• dairy free
• peanut free
• low fat

among other allergies and dietary requirements. She even has an intolerance for iodine; so she can't eat seaweed!

I wanted to make something that we could all enjoy on Shabbat, and that my guest could also eat when she comes. My husband went crazy for this. Inspired by Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass, I created this festive low-fat chicken salad. I've done lots of gluten-free, egg-free experimenting in the last month. I hope to post some of those ideas this month, so stay tuned!

Extra Meaty Turkey-Cabbage Soup

Did you know Israelis eat more turkey per capita than anywhere else in the world?  Turkey shawarma accounts for much of this, but about half the poultry sold in the grocery store is also turkey.  And yet its practically impossible to procure a whole turkey, like the type us Americans like to feast on every November.  I usually grab a package of chicken when I'm shopping, unless I go to the meat counter and see how much cheaper the turkey is.  It's hard to resist the savings.

This week I bought three big ole turkey legs to make for Shabbat.  Unfortunately, we had a crazy Friday and I didn't get them in on time, so I was stuck on Friday night with three only mostly cooked giant drum sticks.  (Thanks to my good friend Hannah of Cooking Manager, I still had a DELICIOUS challah and potato kugel to make our Shabbat special.  Thank you, Hannah!)

Today I used my pressure cooker to make a delicious, meaty soup from the turkey and some vegetables that had over stayed their welcome in my fridge.  Into the pressure cooker went:

Baked Chicken Tenders - Pargiot/Young Chicken

My husband made the most delicious baked chicken fingers or "shnitzel" last week.  Not to insult his skill, but I think the trick was good chicken.  Instead of using thinly sliced or pounded chicken breast, my husband bought something we call פרגיות "pargiot," which usually translates as baby chicken.  My understanding is that this can refer to either a young chicken (less than 28 days old) or a boneless chicken thigh.  Similar cuts would be "spring chicken," though they can be bigger, or "Rock Cornish game hen," though they are usually sold whole.  (A Cornish game hen is just a fancy name for a hybrid chicken with stunted growth. Despite the name, they are domesticated and can be either male or female.) Google translate says pargiot is a pullet, a hen less than a year old; however, I imagine most chickens sold today are under a year old.  It's hard to find a nice old chicken these days, the the type traditionally used for coq au vin.  For more on the benefits of dark meat, check out my post "Are you a Poultry Racist?"

Here's what he did:
1. For close to 3 pounds of chicken (over 1 kilo) beat two eggs in a bowl.
2. Put lightly seasoned Panko Japanese bread crumbs on a plate or bowl. (He used half a bag.)
3. Spray baking sheet with oil.
4. Dip chicken tenders in eggs, shake off, then coat in bread crumbs.
5. Lay chicken on the baking sheet and spray top with oil.
6. Bake until golden and tender.

No need to stand over a pan of hot oil! And they reheat nicely. Enjoy!

One Pan Roasted Chicken and Veggies

I hope you will see this as a great technique, not a recipe.  Each individual ingredient is optional.  What matters is the layering and the size of the raw vegetables.  Your goal is to cut the veggies to a size where they will be cooked to your preference exactly when the chicken is done.

Optional Layer 0:  White rice with water or partially cooked brown rice.  If you skip this layer, you will want to serve this with a grain that can soak up all the incredible juices.  I served this over medium grain brown rice.

Layer 1: Olive oil, fresh green beans, mushrooms, finely chopped garlic, white part of scallions (I use the more mild green part for raw things), shallot, seasoning such as crushed red pepper and ground coriander seeds.

Layer 2: Chicken (see why I like dark meat) brushed with tomato paste and seasonings of choice.

Are You a Poultry Racist?

McCormick Rosemary Chicken

Maybe it's just my pregnancy hormones, but I'm been craving dark meat chicken lately.  In general, I barely eat meat once a week, but when I do, I want it to taste good!


I used to only buy boneless, skinless chicken breast, but this year I started putting taste and simplicity before health (so I thought) and chose whole chicken or legs and thighs, skin on.  Now, I keep hearing about the benefits of dark meat, so I thought I'd share with you.

Why is dark meat dark?  The leg and thigh muscles of a chicken contain more of the protein myoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen uptake within cells.  Myoglobin is high in iron.  It is necessary for sustained activity like walking.  Birds that fly, like ducks, have this tasty muscle through their chest.

Turkey and chicken dark meat has more B vitamins, iron, and zinc than their lighter counterparts, and dark meat is an excellent source of the antioxidant selenium. Ounce per ounce, dark meat has more nutritional value than white meat (source link).  White meat contains no iron.  The fat in dark meat may also aid in the absorption of nutrients in the chicken and your whole meal.

Chicken in Mushroom Shallot Sauce

I have made some version of this dish many times.  Use your best judgment to substitute and tweak my directions as they work for your tastes.  For a prettier presentation, leave the chicken on the bone or use whole breasts.  I prefer to use dark meat and take the bones out in the kitchen to save them for stock.  Whether or not the bones make it to the table, I still have to cut my kids food, so making bite size pieces ahead of time means we can all enjoy our food with less table work.

1. Pan cook chicken legs, turkey, or chicken or beef cut of choice.  Remove meat from pan, but leave oil and bits.
2. Fry sliced shallots (or onions) and mushrooms in ample oil and/or margarine in the same pan.
3. Sprinkle generously with flour and continue cooking on medium-low.
4. Add white wine, beer, or broth and scrape up yummy bits. 
5. Add green olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, or other ingredients (optional) and return chicken to the pan.
6. Continue cooking if necessary or cover and keep warm until ready to eat.

Serve over brown rice or bulgur.

Asado / Mangal: Argentine-Israeli Fusion

In honor of the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer, I took out our tiny charcoal grill and played with matches until I had something I thought might cook some bits of meat and veggies.  Israelis take their barbecue, called "Mangal," very seriously.  On Independence Day, "Yom Ha'atzmaut," the parks are so full of smoke from everyone's little grills you can hardly see a couple meters ahead.  On Lag B'Omer the predominant tradition is building bonfires.  

Growing up in Florida, we often went to my grandparents' house for "asado," Argentine barbecue involving a variety of meats.  I remember a lot of eating as things cooked on the grill, and then more eating when we all sat down to eat.  At the table a jar of chimichurri was always passed around to put on the bread and top the meats.  As I write this, my Aunt is preparing to have my grandparents over for asado this evening.  

Steamed Aromatic Chicken Recipe

 

The last couple weeks I've been steaming chicken breast in my pressure cooker.  I've taken chicken from frozen to juicy with great speed.  Even my kids love it.  The first week  I started with a layer of herbal scraps: leek greens, parsley, and wilted basil.  Then I added 1-2 cups of water, a lightly greased steamer basket, and chicken breast.