Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1 (3 1/2 to 4 lb chicken rinsed
- 8 cups chicken stock
- salt
- black pepper freshly ground
- 5 medium carrots thickly sliced
- 4 medium leeks tender white part only, thickly sliced
- 4 stalks celery thickly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 tsp thyme chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs parsley flat-leaf
- 1/2 cup stellini (tiny star pasta)
- 3 tbs unsalted butter
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1 tbs tarragon chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley flat-leaf, chopped
- 6 slices italian bread slices
- 1/4 cup olive oil extra-virgin
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a 6-quart pot, breast side down. Add the stock, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil, skimming often. Add the carrots, leeks, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and parsley and simmer. After 15 minutes, flip the chicken and cook for 25 minutes more. Remove the chicken and let cool.
- Discard the bay leaf and parsley. Strain the vegetables, reserving the vegetables and the liquid. Return the stock to the pot; bring to a simmer. Pull the chicken meat off the bones. Add the pasta to the stock and cook for 3 minutes, then whisk in the butter, lemon juice, tarragon and parsley. Add the chicken and vegetables; heat through.
- To serve, place a piece of toast in the bottom of each of 6 bowls, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan. Top with stew.
Notes
Remember the chicken-and-stars soup of your youth? This is like that, but heartier, more healthful and a touch more sophisticated. It's loaded with vegetables – carrots, leeks, celery – and seasoned with generous amounts of garlic, tarragon, thyme, parsley and bay leaf. Tiny little star pasta (stellini) make it unbearably charming, and a good squeeze of lemon juice brightens it all up. Serve it over slices of toasted Italian bread for the ultimate in comfort food.
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