Chicken Soup
For that grilled cheese
I love tomatoes. I grew up eating tomato and cheese sandwiches; and I have happily wandered around a garden munching tomatoes right off the vine. Tomato-based Italian sauces are glorious, and I will founder myself in spaghetti, lasagna, and anything else swimming in a tomato sauce.
Mexican and Southwestern tomato salsas make anything better, ketchup covers a multitude of sins, and very few dishes can’t be improved by a can of Rotel.
Caprese salad is a signal that spring has started; stuffed maters is a meal fit for a king, and tomato-garlic confit spread on toast is amazing.
That being said, while I adore tomatoes in soup … I cannot stand tomato soup.
Don’t judge me — you knew I was weird when you showed up.
However, a proper grilled cheese sammich begs — no, cries out — for a good mug of soup. So …
Take:
1.5 pounds of chicken thighs
1 yellow onion
1 bell pepper
2-3 stalks of celery
3-4 cloves of garlic
6 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of flour
4 cups chicken broth
1.5 cups milk
2 cups of cooked rice
Cajun seasoning of your preference
Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a pot, dice up your chicken, sprinkle it with Cajun seasoning, and then brown it in the pot.
While the chicken is browning, chop up the onion, celery, and bell pepper. When the chook is brown, remove it from the pot, pop in a couple of more tablespoons of butter, and the bung in the veggies. Stir them for 8 to ten minutes until they’ve softened nicely.
Add two more tablespoons of butter to the softened veg, and when it’s melted, throw in your flour. Stir continuously for two-three minutes. We’re not making any sort of dark roux here, so don’t worry.
After two-three minutes, add your chicken broth and the milk. Chop the heat down to a simmer, and stir occasionally for another ten-ish minutes. You should see the broth start to thicken up a little. If it thickens up more than your preference, add some more broth, or maybe a little water.
Toss the browned chicken in there, cook for about 15 minutes, then follow up with your cooked rice. Stir it for a couple of minutes, pop it into a soup mug, and serve with a sandwich of some kind … preferably grilled cheese.
Voila! Chicken soup.
Ian
I remember when Campbell's tomato soup required a wire whisk to mix. The stuff came out of the can like tomato paste. Now you just need a spoon. "Microwave Ready" with about a cup of sugar per can.
Have you tried Heinz 57? It's sort of like ketchup. My dad would put it on fried eggs. I remembered that a couple of months ago and 40 years later it's as good as I remember.
I'd add carrots and swap the rice for barley.