Soup for the Soul

..... this week a friend was looking to cook a pot of soup for a sick love and I immediately went to refer the best, most wholesome and restorative chicken soup I had ever come across. I was however caught by a pang of guilt when I went to turn and share my delight in recommending such a concoction with a colleague at work and I immediately stopped myself for fear of judgement of what might expose me as some "housewife" novice.

This thought brought me back to a childhood memory of sitting in my Poppy's study reading the collection of 1900-something Girl's Own Annuals he has been collecting for me since I was born. As I was looking at the mildewed pages with detailed descriptions on how to prepare a compress for a fever, or to tourniquet an injured arm I remember as a young girl I was perplexed as to just how resourceful this girls/women were (I prefer to refer to them as girls however as many new brides were just that). At the time the only first aid act I had performed was to place a Disney motif Band-Aid to a grazed knee - more often than not, not even successfully.

Before I lose my point completely - I came to think after further reflection, what is there to feel guilty about having some of these curative tips, trialled and tested by generations before us, at our fingertips? After all, I am no 1900 something housewife (far from it), I am however simply a novice who is hungry to learn more and early days into my education I can proudly say - the soup works....

Chicken Soup for the SOUL

(a Heston Blumenthal recipe)

You'll Need:-

Ingredients

1kg/2lb 4oz chicken wings

100g/3½oz unsalted butter


2 large onions, finely chopped


2 cloves garlic, finely chopped


3 large carrots, finely chopped


1 small head of celeriac, finely chopped


250g/9oz button mushrooms, finely sliced


200ml/7fl oz dry white wine


bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf and celery leaves)


4 whole star anise


3 sticks of celery, finely sliced


3 leeks, finely sliced


a small piece of fresh ginger


salt and freshly ground black pepper


large bunch of fresh parsley

Method

1. Put the chicken wings into a casserole, pour over cold water just to cover and bring to the boil on a high heat. As soon as the water boils, skim off any impurities that may have risen to the surface, lift out the wings and cool them under running water. Pat dry.
2. On a medium heat, melt the butter, add the chicken wings, onions, garlic, carrots, celeriac and mushrooms, and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Turn the heat up, pour in the wine, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Pour over cold water to cover by 5cm/2 inches, bring to the boil and skim off any impurities that may have risen to the surface. Add the bouquet garni and star anise, and simmer very gently for 30 minutes.
4. Add the celery, leeks and ginger and continue simmering very gently for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat; season if necessary, add the parsley and leave to stand for 20 minutes.
5. Strain the soup through a fine-meshed sieve and then, if you have some, muslin. It can be eaten straight away, or left to cool and kept in an airtight container in the fridge.