4 minute read

Soup IS LIKE A BIG WARM HUG!

Hello my Foodie Friends!

Soup during the winter months is like having a big warm hug! Although we enjoy soup year-round, it is when the chill is in the air that we truly embrace a variety of these belly-warming concoctions. It’s the comforting feeling that happens in our home whenever we make soup that makes it so desirable.

to make pastina, vegetable soups, risottos, sauces, and chicken dishes pop with flavor. There was one essential item that my mother had to have to assist her with the process of making her broth, the soup sock.

You can fill these cotton mesh bags with your favorite herbs and ingredients for flavoring stocks and soups. The finely woven material holds delicate herbs or expands to accommodate everything from bones to chopped vegetables. When cooking is complete, simply remove the bag – no need for straining! They are made of strong, 100% fine cotton mesh. The soup sock comes in a large size to accommodate all

Chicken Broth using a Soup Sock

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (3 1/2 pounds), with neck and giblets (save the liver for another dish)

• 1 medium onion, quartered

• 4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

• 2 large carrots, cut into 1-inch slices

Instructions

Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

For The Meatballs

• ¾ pound ground chicken

• ½ pound chicken sausage, casings removed

• 2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley sorts of flavoring ingredients, from bones and whole vegetables to herb leaves. They will not impart odors or flavors into soups or stocks. The best part is that they help with a mess-free cooking – no need for straining. The packets of soups socks come in sets of three and they are made in the USA.

Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, to get soup socks and the supplies you need to create your favorite soup. Remember my Foodie Friends; “Life Happens in the Kitchen!”

Take Care, John & Paula

• ¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

• 3 tablespoons milk

• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

FOR THE SOUP:

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil

• 1 cup minced yellow onion

• 1 cup 1/4-inch-diced carrots (3 carrots)

• ¾ cup 1/4-inch-diced celery (2 stalks)

• 10 cups Homemade Chicken Stock (recipe below)

• ½ cup dry white wine

• 1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars

• ¼ cup minced fresh dill

• 12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

• 2 medium parsnips, cut into 1-inch slices

• 2 stalks celery, cut into 3-inch pieces

• 1 small handful fresh parsley sprigs, plus 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

1. In a soup sock, place the chicken, neck, giblets, onion, garlic, carrots, parsnips, celery, parsley sprigs, and thyme. Close the open end of the sock by either tying a knot with the mesh ends or using butcher’s twine.

2. Place the sock in a large stock pot. Pour in the water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Skim the liquid. Add salt, black pepper, and red pepper. Reduce the heat to moderately low, set on the cover askew, and simmer gently so the liquid is just bubbling, for 50 minutes.

3. Use tongs to turn the soup sock around in the pot so the knotted end is facing up. Using a pot holder or kitchen towel to grab the end, carefully lift the bag from the stock and place it in a large bowl. Transfer the bag to a carving board with grooves to capture the juices. As

• 3 1/2 quarts (14 cups) cold water

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper juices collect in the grooves, lift up the board and pour the juices back into the cooking pot.

4. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut a long slit in the sock. Cut or pull the chicken from the bones and cut the meat into bite-size pieces, discarding the skin and bones. Transfer to a container. Cut the carrots and parsnips into pieces and add to the chicken. Cover and refrigerate.

5. Tip the chicken soup into a large container. Leave to cool. Cover and refrigerate.

6. Skim the fat from the chicken soup. Tip the soup into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Boil the stock for 10 minutes to reduce the liquid and concentrate the flavors. Add as much chicken, carrots, and parsnips to the soup as you like, along with cooked noodles. Simmer 2 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with parsley.

Recipe from the Boston Globe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1- to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don’t have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside. In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium- low heat in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan cheese. Recipe compliments of the Barefoot Contessa at barefootcontessa.com

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