Chicken Stock
Makes about 8 cups
Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Total preparation time: 3 1/2 hours
I understand that most people are going to reach for a can of chicken stock on a weeknight (and yes, let’s be honest, even on a weekend) but I am hoping that one weekend, when you have a little time on your hands and you plan ahead at the supermarket and pick up some chicken wings and the appropriate vegetables, you will decide to make a batch of the homemade stuff. The flavor is superior, and because it is made with chicken and bones, it contains gelatin, which contributes body to any recipe you put it in. I have tried boiling down several brands of canned stock to see what happens. If they had actually been made from bones, the liquid would become very viscous after awhile. Instead, I can boil the mixture down until it disappears and pouf, there is nothing left in the pan. My theory is that they simmered water and chicken fat to come up with the flavor in canned stock and then removed the fat. I don’t know how else they got chicken flavor in there. I like to use chicken wings, because they have equal parts of chicken (flavor), bones (gelatin), and fat in the form of skin (more flavor), more of all three put together than any other part of the chicken.
After you make your stock, remove the fat and boil it down by at least one third to concentrate it. Divide the stock up among several resealable plastic bags and freeze it. You will be so happy to have it on hand. We refer to it as liquid gold. This stock will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator or a few months in the freezer.
5 pounds chicken wings
2 medium onions, quartered
2 small carrots, halved
2 celery stalks, halved
4 rinsed and dried fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
2 rinsed and dried fresh thyme sprigs
1 Turkish bay leaf
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Rinse the chicken wings. Put them in a stockpot and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring the mixture just to a boil over high heat, skimming and discarding the surface skim with a slotted spoon. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, skimming frequently, for 20 minutes.
Add the onions, carrots, celery, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns; simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Strain the stock and skim off all the fat that rises to the surface. (Alternately, cool the stock and refrigerate it overnight. The fat will harden on top of the stock and is much easier to remove.)
Return the stock to the pot and simmer until reduced by one third, about 30 minutes. Divide the stock among several resealable plastic bags and freeze it.
Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Chorizo and Greens
Makes 6 servings
Hands-on time: 35 minutes
Total preparation time: 45 minutes
This is a very substantial and satisfying soup. Thickened by pureed cauliflower and potato, it is luxuriously creamy without any cream. The sausage, greens, and paprika give it heat, and the cauliflower flowerets give it crunch.
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
10 ounces chorizo or andouille sausage, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds)
1 small Yukon gold potato (about 4 ounces), peeled and coarsely chopped
4 cups canned chicken broth or Chicken Stock (recipe follows)
1 bunch mustard greens, kale, or spinach, or a mixture, tough stems discarded, rinsed, dried, and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
Paprika, preferably smoked, for garnish
Grilled or broiled slices of homemade-style bread, rubbed with a cut garlic clove, optional
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium, add the chorizo, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pieces are lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chorizo with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut 2 cups of small florets from the cauliflower and chop the rest. Peel and thinly slice the potato. When the onion has softened, add the chicken broth, chopped cauliflower, and potato to the saucepan; bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 8 minutes or until the cauliflower and potato are very tender. Transfer to a blender in three or four small batches and puree until very smooth.
Measure the pureed soup and return it to the saucepan. Add water, if necessary, to make 7 cups. Stir in the reserved cauliflower florets and simmer for 4 minutes or until they are almost tender. If you are using mustard greens or kale, add them to the soup with the flowerets. When the flowerets are just tender, stir in the chorizo and lemon juice; add salt and pepper to taste. If using spinach, stir it in with the chorizo. Ladle the soup into bowls; sprinkle each with some paprika and serve with garlic bread, if desired.
Seared Beef in Autumn Broth with Wasabi Cream
Makes 4 Servings
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total preparation time: 33 minutes
This dish began as a variation on a French recipe called boeuf á la ficelle (literally “beef on a string), which requires the cook to tie a string around some filet mignon and lower it into a pot of barely simmering broth. I tried it and was stunned by its blandness. It struck me as a scandalous waste of a very expensive cut of meat, and I was ready to junk the whole idea. Then Joanne, my collaborator on this book, noted that though the meat was ruined, the broth was really delicious. So we switched to flank steak (which is much more affordable than filet mignon) and seared it separately. The end result turned out to be a great cold weather dish.
1 medium leek (white part only)
6 cups canned chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
2 medium carrots (about 6 ounces), peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 medium parsnips (about 10 ounces), peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 small turnips (about 8 ounces), peeled, quartered, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
2 garlic cloves, sliced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 sprig rinsed and dried fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1 Turkish bay leaf
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound beef flank steak
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
1/3 cup sour cream or crème fraiche
1 teaspoon prepared wasabi
Halve the leek lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch lengths. Rinse in several changes of water and drain well. In a large saucepan, combine the leek with the broth, carrots, parsnips, turnips, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 18 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat until hot. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the beef seasoned with salt and pepper. Sauté until well browned on both sides and medium-rare in the center, 8 to 10 minutes total. Remove the beef to a plate; cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest 5 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.
Stir together the sour cream, any juices from the beef plate, and the wasabi; add salt and pepper to taste. Discard the thyme sprig and bay leaf; divide the vegetables and broth among 4 soup bowls. Arrange one-fourth of the beef in the center of each bowl and top each portion with a spoonful of the wasabi cream.
Chicken wings make the best stock in my opinion because they have:
1. The fat from the skin which is a conductor of flavor
2. The meat which contributes chicken flavor
3. A ton of gelatin from the bones which adds body.
When you are cooking every day, save vegetable scraps – the ends of the onions, carrot stems, leek greens, etc and put them in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer for that Sunday you decide to make stock.
When cooking a steak or any other protein, season it before you cook it. It will taste more intensely like whatever it was to begin with (for example steak). If you season it afterwards it will taste like steak with a salt hat.
Even if you are going to serve a soup cold it is best to purée it while it is hot; it will come out much smoother. The best tool for this job is the blender. Years ago when the food processor was developed I retired my blender thinking that the food processor could do everything a blender could and better. I was wrong. You never get the same silky texture from a soup or puréed dish as you do when you put it in a blender. But you must be careful or you will end up wearing it. You should only fill the blender about one third full with hot liquid and then leave the lid very slightly ajar to allow for the heat to escape and cover the top of the blender with a kitchen towel. Let it rip for quite awhile to make sure you get that creamy texture and then, if you want, you can pass it through a strainer to get rid of any residual tiny lumps.
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