By Joe Dennis, Nostalgia Farms
In keeping with New Year’s resolutions to keep fit and eat healthier, let’s start the year off with a homemade chicken soup. A great way to introduce greens and whole grain rice or beans to your diet is to add them to soup. And by starting with a whole chicken, you save money and can stretch your dollar by making two meals from one bird.
Below is my recipe and instructions from making chicken stock. If you don’t have time, you can substitute canned chicken broth. You will also need to add 2-3 cups of cooked chicken to the recipe.
To make the stock, I usually cut the breast off first by using kitchen shears and cutting through the rib cage and add it to the stockpot for 30 – 40 minutes to poach. Remove from pot and let rest for five minutes and plunge into an ice bath. You can than remove the breast from the bones, (add bones back to stock pot) and use the breast meat for a healthy salad, sandwich or casserole.
There will be plenty of meat left on the bird to begin the basis for soup. Another tip for a clearer broth is to not allow the stock to come to a full boil, keep it on a slow simmer.
Chicken Soup with Cabbage and Rice
Ingredients:
5 cups homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
4 medium carrots
2 stalks celery
1 clove garlic
½ head savoy cabbage
2 cups cooked whole grain rice
1 large onion
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Reserved chicken or 2-3 cups of cooked chicken
Directions:
1. Melt butter in large pot, add chopped onion, celery and garlic sauté until translucent.
2. Add stock and bring back to a boil. Add carrots, cabbage, bay leaf, basil, simmer 30 minutes
3. Add chicken and rice, cook 10 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper add parsley and serve.
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Joe Dennis is a farmer at Nostalgia Farms in Walcott, Iowa. Together with his partner, Ed Kraklio, they sell locally-grown, organic produce at the Freight House Farmer’s Market in downtown Davenport, IA near LeClaire Park, every Tuesday (3-6 pm) and Saturday (8 am -1 pm). You can visit the farm’s website at: www.nostalgiafarms.com. Read more of Farmer Joe’s blog posts on MVHNews, or try any of the Nostalgia Farms recipes on this website. |
