The other day I was planning on tossing together another salad using the pesto vinaigrette that I made the other day, but this time it was going to be an entre salad rather than a side. And for me, a meal isn't really complete unless it has some sort of meat to anchor it. (Not that I'm a raging carnivore or anything. In fact, dinner is the only time of the day that I ever eat animals of any kind.) So I decided to poach some chicken to shred into the salad. Now I don't know how many of you ever poach chicken, but it's really easy and the liquid in which you poach the chicken can range from nothing more than salted water with a few peppercorns added all the way to elaborate concotions using bouquet garnis tied in cheese cloth and an array of different chopped vegatables.
I found an interesting recipe for what promised to be a flavorful poaching liquid on Martha's website. (Martha never lets me down). I liked that it had tarragon in it and I loved that it called for a whole cup of sherry. So I threw it together and poached two beautiful little organic free-range chicken breasts. After it was done and I had shredded the meat what was left in the pot was a beautiful rich stock. I tasted it and it was fantastic. I decided that I had to use if for SOMEthing. I just couldn't let it go to waste. I sort of got the idea for this soup from Donna Hay's latest book.
INGREDIENTS
4 sprigs fresh thyme
6 stems fresh tarragon (I confess that I used about a tablespoon of dried)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoons whole peppercorns
1 cup sherry
5 cups water
2 stalks celery, coursely chopped
1/2 white onion, coursely chopped
1 large carrot, coursely chopped
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cannellini beans
1 cup elbow pasta
6 fresh basil leaves cut into a chiffinade
parmesan cheese (optional)
METHOD
Place the tarragon, thyme, bay leaves, pepper corns, sherry, celery, carrots, onion, and water in a medium pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, and let simmer for 5 minutes.
Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Add to the gently simmering liquid, and cook until firm 10 to 12 minutes.
Meanwhile in another pot, prepare the pasta according to the package directions. However, be sure to cook until it's NOT QUITE al dente. Once the pasta is in the broth it will absorb some of the liquid. Cooking it until it's not quite done will prevent it from getting to soft in the soup. When the pasta is done, drain and set aside. Toss the pasta with a little tiny bit of olive oil so it doesn't stick together.
Turn off heat under the chicken, cover pot and let stand for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the poached chicken from the broth. Cut two of the breasts into large bite-sized chunks and reserve the third for another use. A salad perhaps. (See, you want the flavor the chicken brings but you don't need all the meat.) Add the chicken as well as the beans to the broth and bring it back to a gentle, low simmer in order to heat the beans through, 5 minutes or so.
Divide the pasta between two bowls then laddle chicken, vegetables, beans and stock into each bowl. Top with some of the basil and, if you wish, a little grating of parmesan cheese.
Okay, I know this recipe might seem slightly fussy, especially compared to regular soup recipes where you just toss everything in a pot and let it simmer for an hour, but trust me, this method really results in an homey yet elegant meal. First of all, it looks really pretty - monchromatic except for little hits of color from the carrots and the basil. The broth is beautifully clear and extremely flavorful. Homemade chicken stock really can't compare to store-bought. The chicken is perfectly cooked, as are the vegetables, soft but still with a little body. The beans add little bursts of creamy substance and by boiling the pasta separately and adding it to the soup as it's being served, the little elbows still maintain their al dente texture that's so pleasing to bite into. And finally the basil gives the whole thing a beautiful, bright freshenss.
I would say that this soup, more than flavor (which is pretty great, believe me) is all about interesting and complemantary textures. As such, I wouldn't recommend making a big batch and storing it away ing the fridge. The pasta and the vegetables would get too mushy, the chicken would break down and you'd be left with an ugly mess. It's so surprising how a meal that seems like it took a great deal of effort can come together so fast and with minimal fuss.
Serves 2.
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