Italian Chicken & Lentil Soup

As a single mother I have learned to try not to throw anything away. In terms of food that is. If you have vegetable scraps, don't throw them away. Freeze them to make a nice soup stock later on. The roasted chicken you made last night? Don't throw away the bones, use them for stock! It's so much better for you then the store bought stuff that's loaded w/tons of sodium and God only knows what else. If you don't use the stock right away, that's fine, freeze it! This recipe is the result of what was left of the roasted chicken I made last night. I had half of the meat left over and all the bones. So with that one little 4 pound chicken, I made enough to feed an army!

The great thing about soup is you can use a little of this and a little of that. Whatever you have on hand does the trick. It doesn't have to be exact. For example, when I make the stock, I just fill the biggest pot I have up w/water. I don't measure out how much. With that said if you have a really big pot, you need more things in it to make a nice rich stock. A basic stock is onion, garlic, celery, carrot, salt/pepper, bay leaf, and fresh herbs.

For the Stock:
My roasted chicken was about 4 pounds. I had about half of the chicken left over so I used that chicken for the soup.
Fill a large stock pot up with water.
Remove all the chicken from the bones and set aside, put all the bones into the water.
2 Bay Leaves
salt/peppercorns or freshly ground pepper
1 large onion cut into large chunks
3-4 garlic cloves, skin can be left on.
2-3 stalks celery, cut in large chunks
handful of carrots
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (whatever fresh herb you have on hand can work, thyme, parsley, basil)
Bring the water up to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and let this go a good 4-5 hours on the stove. Strain the broth into a colander discarding the bones and vegetables and saving the stock. Let the stock cool and skim the top of any fat.

Onto the Soup:

1 large red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
16 ounces of pureed tomatoes ( I love San Marzano tomatoes)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 zucchini cubed into bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups of lentils
Chicken

Using the same pot you used for the stock, add a little olive oil. Saute' the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots for about 10 minutes. Add in the zucchini, lentils, herbs and tomatoes. Let cook another 10 minutes. Now pour in the stock and let this simmer about 40 minutes or until the lentils and vegetables are desired tenderness. Stir in the chicken and cook another ten minutes or until heated through. Taste for more seasoning. Serve immediately with grated cheese, salad and or bread if desired. It's time consuming, yes. But it's flavorful, healthy and it goes a long way. You can absolutely freeze this soup for later use! Enjoy


Copyright © 2012 Salvo-lutions by, Dana Salvo