I MADE SO MUCH SOUP LAST WEEK. Monday morning felt about -20 and I was NOT having it. Fortunately, I had a few soup recipes that I was just dying to try.
I have a tub of miso paste in my fridge that I barely use. Aside from being loaded with salt it’s actually very good for you. It’s full of antioxidants, enzymes that aid digestion, amino acids that make it a complete protein and is a great vegetable source of vitamin B! This is what the internet tells me. Either way, I wanted something warm in my belly and I wanted it fast. I boiled a cup and a half of water and plopped a TBSP of miso in it, whisking until dissolved. I lowered the temp to a simmer then threw some raw salmon pieces in and let it cook for 3 minutes before tossing in some nappa cabbage and sliced mushrooms. Let it go for another minute. Serve in a large bowl garnished with green onion. How easy was that? It was so delicious too. Play around with the amount of miso you want to use. My tub told me to use 1 TBSP of miso for half a cup of water. That is WAY too salty for me.
I’ve really been feeling my Bon Appetit Magazine that I got for Christmas (actually my mom got it…and I “borrowed” it) and found a real neat spicy chicken stock recipe. Check this out!
Now, if you gave that a quick read you’ll notice that once you bring it to a boil, you only simmer it for 30 minutes. That’s it!? I did it exactly that way and mine was nowhere near cooked. Maybe because I jammed too many ingredients into my pot? I had to cook it for about an hour.
I also didn’t have all of the ingredients so I improvised to the best of my abilities. I didn’t have chiles de arbol or guajillo chiles so I used new mexico chiles that I had purchased from a previous recipe. I also tossed in from red pepper flakes for added kick and fresh turmeric because I had it, and why not! Fresh turmeric is very good for you but it stains the shit out of your hands. Make sure you wear gloves if you’re going to peel or grate it. I looked like I had jaundice for a few days. Not a good look!
Once my stock was done I shredded my chicken and started assembling my soup. Here is what they recommend:
I used acorn squash instead of kombucha and cut them into more manageable pieces. I mean, yeah the picture looks good but how the heck am I supposed to eat a giant wedge of squash with a spoon? I also used napa cabbage and spinach as my greens and omitted the chili oil because I’m a peasant who doesn’t own any…yet…
Here’s my overall review. This was very good BUT I think it would have been better if I did it my way. 1st of all, 30 minutes is not long enough to make stock. I don’t care if you’re putting the whole damn chicken in. 2nd of all, boiling the chicken gave the meat a slightly different texture than I’m used to (it’s still good though!) and doesn’t give it a lot of flavour.
Next time I will roast my chicken separately. I’d shove some lime, jalapeños and garlic up there, cover it with butter and roast it like I would any chicken. THEN I would let it cool, take the chicken off the bones and make the stock (as I did before) with the BONES. I would let those bones simmer in the broth for at least 4 hours because bones are where all the flavour is. That way the broth will be richer and the chicken will be more delicious. Try it my way. I DARE YOU.
The nice part about this soup is that I had a ton of leftover broth AND chicken. I made a cabbage, spinach, chicken and sweet potato soup the next day by simply simmering the veg in the broth and then I repurposed my leftover chicken into burritos! I know this blog is called “Soup, there it is!” but this recipe was born out of a soup recipe.
Julia’s Super Cool Burrito Chicken Wrap
Cook rice in the leftover chicken stock .(See!? SOUP!) Add some cayenne.
Re-heat chicken in pan with sliced red onion, dash of cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Use a bit of stock to keep moist. (SOUP!)
Mash an avocado with salt, pepper and lime juice.
Smear avocado on large whole wheat tortilla. Top with spinach, chicken mixture, salsa, cheese and spicy rice.
Put on a pan and broil to make cheese bubbly and nice.
Attempt to close this monster and chow down.
This burrito was FIRE. And I mean that in the way that Guy Fieri describes things. It was MONEY. WE ALL WENT TO FLAVOUR TOWN! I hope Guy doesn’t sue me for borrowing his catch phrases.
Anyway folks, that’s it for today! I feel like I learned a lot and I hope you did do. Let’s re-cap, shall we?
- Miso is good and fast
- Make stock out of BONES
- Repurpose soup ingredients to make other meals
- Cook rice in homemade stock for added flavour
There ya have it! Stay tuned for a mid-week breakfast blog. I cooked so much last week that there was no way I could fit it all in. Stay warm my friends!
Love, Julia
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