The Best Chicken Soup

We are all convinced that this is the best chicken soup recipe we have ever had! It's Paleo and, it's so easy! Thank you to our friend and excellent cook, Sarah Waldron, for the recipe and her variations, which we think make it that much better.

1 small whole chicken (4-5 pounds) We've been using the new "smart" chicken at New Seasons
1 leek, white part only, diced
8 crushed cloves of garlic
2 stalks celery, diced
4 large carrots, scrubbed or peeled and sliced
5 large sprigs of thyme
1 golf ball size knob of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1-2 Tbsp sea salt
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry sherry

Place your leek, garlic, celery, carrots, thyme, and ginger in the bottom of a 6 qt or larger crockpot. Place your whole chicken on top of the vegetables, add stock and sherry and salt. Cover and cook on igh for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours (until the chicken is cooked through and falling off the bone). Remove the chicken from the crock pot to a large plate or backing sheet, let cool slightly and then shred all the meat with your hands (discard bones, skin, cartilage, etc.) Add the meat back to the broth and vegetables and serve warm. It's also delicious to add a bit of diced avocado to each bowl before adding the hot soup.

Grilled Lemon and Rosemary Chicken

4 Servings

 

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for grill grates and drizzling
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 3/4 pounds chicken cutlets (8 thin cutlets)
1 lemon, sliced in half, optional

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-deen/grilled-lemon-and-rosemary-chicken-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Roasted Chicken and Butternut Squash Soup

This is so delicious...and easy! My friend, Anne, served it for book group lunch and everyone raved. Same thing when I served it to friends for dinner. Yum! I'm already looking forward to the leftovers. Serves 4.

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 med. butternut squash (2 1/2 lbs.), peeled, seeded and diced med.
1 med. onion, diced
2 T. olive oil
Salt and Pepper
4 c. chicken broth
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. coriander
1 T. lemon juice
Choice of garnishes: cilantro, fresh herbs, pine nuts, etc.

Heat oven to 425. In roasting pan, toss together chicken, squash, onion, and oil.
Season w/ salt and pepper.
Roast 30 min., or til cooked through
Put chicken on plate to cool.
Transfer squash and onion to soup pot. Add broth, cumin, and coriander.
Bring to a simmer over med-hi heat.
Mash or blend some squash til soup is thick and chunky.
Discard bones and skin from chicken, add meat (cut into bite-size chunks) to soup.
Stir in lemon juice and season w/ salt and pepper to taste.
Heat through and serve with garnishes of choice. (cilantro and pine nuts are good)

Tuscan Lemon Chicken

Serves 3-4

1 (3 1/2#) chicken, flattened
kosher salt
1/3 c good olive oil
2t grated lemon zest
1/3 c lemon juice
1T. minced garlic
1T. minced rosemary
pepper
1 lemon, halved

Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt on each side.
Combine the olive oil, zest, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary and 1t pepper in a dish just large enough to hold the flattened chicken (or use a ziplock bag). Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning once or twice.

Prepare a hot charcoal fire on one side of a grill (or turn gas grill to low heat). Spread 1/4 of the coals across the other side of the grill. Place the chicken on the cooler side, skin side up, and weight it down with the dish. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until the underside is golden brown. Turn the chicken skin side down, weight it down and cook for another 12-15, until the skin is golden and the chicken is cooked through. Place the lemon halves on the cool side of the grill, cut side down for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove chicken and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into quarters, sprinkle with salt and serve with the grilled lemon halves (squeeze over chicken).

To flatten chicken: stand the chicken upright and cut out the backbone with a large kitchen knife. Spread the chicken open on a board with the skin side down. Cut around and remove the breatbone with a boning knife.

I highly recommend using the leftover marinade as a sauce by heating it to low boil and simmering for 5 minutes.

From Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, Ina Garten