Gluten Free · Dairy Free
Family Favourites
This is the very best version of a chicken stew / soup that i know of. The recipe for this fabulous dish was given to my mother by a Portuguese friend back in the 70s. It has traveled from Portugal to Mozambique, to England and now to California.
I've modified it slightly to include my preserved lemons. It is both delicious and nutritious. The abundance of cilantro and ground coriander seed make it a super detox; the whole body chicken soup is of course well documented as a treatment for colds, and the vitamin C from the lemon and Lactoferrin from the egg yolks are both both great immune tonics. Needless to say we favor this dish as an immune support for head colds.
Ingredients:
- Fresh, medium whole body Chicken
- Juice of two lemons
- 1 bunch of cilantro (chopped fine this should be a minimum of 1/2 cup but depending on your preference you can add as much as a full cup).
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 large onion or alternatively two large leeks.
- 4 carrots
- 2 zucchini
- 3 sticks of celery
- 1 rutabaga or turnip
- 6-8 cups of rich broth (ideally chicken bone broth, but veggie broth will work too)
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp ground dry coriander seed
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp dry parsley
- 1 tsp dry tarragon
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- 4 tbs of olive oil
Steps:
- Pre heat oven to 400F
- Into a large heavy bottom stock pot, (ideally one that has a lid and can be transferred to the oven) add the oil and the whole chicken
- Brown the whole chicken on all sides for 30 mins (the browning will release the flavor from the skin)
- Chop and add the onion
- Cook until the onions are tender / transparent
- Chop the veggies into large pieces (about 1" lengths)
- Add the onions, veggies, spices, salt and stock
- Cover and cook in the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove from the oven and put on the to top of the stove (no heat) allow to cool for 10 mins apx
- Take about 1/2 a cup of the soup out of the pot and put it in a small bowl
- Separate the eggs
- Add the egg yolks to the soup in the bowl and whisk until combined.
- Add the egg yolk / soup mixture back to the pot of soup (do not turn the pot back on quite yet).
- Mix well.
- Turning the heat on low, continue to stir the soup of 4 - 5 mins or until the soup has started to thicken slightly.
- Turn the pot off again.
- Add the lemon juice and chopped cilantro.
- Serve over rice with extra cilantro as a garnish
