Peruvian Chicken Soup
Peruvian Chicken Soup
Brothy chicken soup can be found the world over and this is the Peruvian version, though it is often eaten there for breakfast rather than supper. Peruvians include egg noodles as well as potatoes, but I don’t like the double starch. You could replace the potatoes with quinoa, it’s better for you and, as a south American grain, seems totally apt. Just prepare it (see crazy grains) and spoon it into the soup, or serve on the side. The avocado is not authentic but it does go very well.
Ingrediënten
- 2.25 kg 5lb chicken
- 2 leeks roughly chopped
- 2 celery sticks roughly chopped
- 2 carrots roughly chopped
- 4 cm 1½in root ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 bulb of garlic halved horizontally
- 8 waxy potatoes peeled or not, as you like
- 6 eggs
- small bunch of coriander leaves roughly chopped
- 4 spring onions chopped
- 2 red chillies deseeded and finely sliced
- juice of 1–2 limes to taste, plus lime wedges to serve
- slices of avocado seasoned, with lime squeezed on top, to serve
Instructies
- Put the chicken into a large saucepan with the leeks, celery, carrots, ginger and garlic.
- Cover completely with water and bring to the boil.
- Immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and slowly cook for about three hours, skimming the surface every so often to remove impurities and fat.
- The chicken should be just tender and the broth around it golden.
- Carefully lift the chicken out on to a platter and strain the stock.
- Skim the surface of fat (you can throw a handful of ice cubes into it which will make the fat rise to the surface).
- Taste and reduce the stock by boiling if you want it to taste stronger.
- Put the potatoes into the stock and cook for about 25 minutes, until tender.
- Boil the eggs for seven minutes, then cover with cold water and peel once they are cool enough to handle.
- Meanwhile, take the meat off the chicken (or you can serve it whole and in the pot in which it was cooked).
- If you are cutting it up, you want to end up with eight nice big bits of meat, one for each person, or the equivalent in small pieces.
- When the potatoes are cooked, return the chicken pieces (or whole bird) to the broth to warm through.
- Take off the heat and stir in the coriander, spring onions, chillies and lime juice to taste.
- Serve with the avocado.
- Each plate should have a halved hard-boiled egg and lime wedges.
