Chicken and Garlic Soup

A simple soup by national treasure Samin Nosrat

Shoutout to my friend Katharine for sending me and Samin Nosrat for writing this week’s soupletter recipe. I, like many of you, am very burned out on …. everything? So tonight I made a very simple but delicious soup. Its pared down ingredient list and relative quickness made it the perfect soup for second day snow. I also originally chose this noodle-free chicken soup because I was making focaccia today, too. But either my yeast was dead or I killed it with too hot water, because it did not rise at all. (We all have kitchen disasters from time to time!) I baked it even though it had NOT doubled in volume, and I ended up with a delicious, soft flatbread. You could definitely add noodles to this (I would do it the Asian way, and add the noodles to individual bowls) or even some tiny potatoes added in when you simmer the chicken. I also always advocate adding greens to soups, and for this I added baby spinach—again, in the bowl so it doesn’t get all sad if you have leftovers.

I’m sorry, vegans and vegetarians — it turns out when I look for a comforting soup, my mind goes straight to chicken broth and soups. I would use vegetarian Better than Bouillon, and maybe instead of chicken just ramp up the vegetables to include parsnips, turnips, and other root vegetables, then toss in some corn maybe at the end? The main takeaway from this recipe is, cook the garlic separately and add it later to the soup, which is a trick that you could use to improve almost any soup, whether it includes chicken or not.

Chicken and Garlic Soup, poorly adapted from Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat (go buy it!)

• 4 chicken legs

• salt

• olive oil

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 3 celery stalks, chopped

• 3 carrots, chopped

• 2 bay leaves

• 10 cups of chicken stock (or water)

• parmesan rind

• 20 cloves of garlic, sliced

Spinach, noodles, herbs of your choice for serving

1. Salt the chicken legs at least one hour in advance.

2. Over high heat, coat a Dutch oven in a thin layer of olive oil and then brown the chicken in batches on both sides (about 4 minutes a side) and remove to a plate. Remove excess fat, but leave enough to coat the bottom of the Dutch oven. Lower heat to medium

3. Saute onion, carrots, celery and bay leaves for 10-15 minutes, until soft and getting golden in color.

4. Add chicken, 10 cups stock (or water, or water + better than bouillon, which is what I did), parmesan rind, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil than lower to a simmer, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes to an hour.

5. Meanwhile, heat a small frying pan on medium with a slick of fat in the bottom (either the reserved fat from the chicken or olive oil). When shimmering, add the garlic slices and let em go for 20-30 seconds, until fragrant, and then dump right into the soup.

6. When chicken is cooked through, remove to a plate until cool enough to handle (don’t test yourself! 10 minutes!), then pick the meat from the bones and return it to the soup. Adjust seasoning to taste, and voila!

7. Serve over a bed of spinach, noodles, or whatever suits your fancy. Top with fresh herbs—I always like dill and parsley.

Chicken and Garlic Soup