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Hardy Chicken Soup with Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Hardy Chicken Soup with Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Chef's notes

The secret to this great chicken soups and stews is by seasoning and roasting chicken with their skin and bones retained. I prefer breasts.

Chicken simmered in water or in combination with broth for hours can drain flavor and produce chicken with stringy over-processed texture.

Roasted chicken, delicious if simply served as an entrée, makes the perfect chicken for soups and stews. As a bonus, root vegetables like carrots can also be seasoned and roasted with chicken. Lightly caramalized, they add additional richness.

After roasting, boxed broth is enhanced to prepare the soup’s delicious base. Onion is sliced and sautéed with olive oil in a stalk pot. Skin and bones from the roasted chicken are removed and added to render additional flavors along with celery stalk and parsley. Once flavors are extracted, mixture is passed through a strainer, flavored broth is captured while discarding rendered solids. Only after broth and fresh sliced celery are cooked through, sautéed spinach incorporated, chicken and roasted carrots are diced and added along with and all retained roasting juices, seasoning is adjusted; delicious soup is ready.

Escarole or mustard greens can be substituted for Spinach. You can add a variety of add ins to this versatile soup; cooked white beans with additional broth, small Italian meatballs, frozen peas, thin egg and vegetable omelet cut into delicate squares, and many more.

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Hardy Chicken Soup with Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients

1 Whole, 2 split chicken breasts with skin and bones
Olive oil
Tuscany Seasoning (Rosemary, sage, garlic, and kosher salt), or favorite poultry seasoning
1-pound carrots
8 Large celery stocks
Fresh flat Italian parsley
1 medium yellow onion
3 32 oz. boxes chicken broth
10-oz package of fresh spinach
“Better than Bouillon” Chicken, Roasted Chicken Base, or Premium Base

Instructions

Rinse and dry split breasts. Generously coat them with olive oil and Tuscany (or other favorite) seasoning. Peel carrots and cut lengths into three of four pieces. Also toss with seasoning and oil.
Place chicken skin sides up in a roasting pan. Layer pan with seasoned carrots. Convection roast at 380° in the middle of the oven. If carrots char before chicken is cooked through, temporarily remove and set aside. Occasionally turn breasts over. Remove roasting pan when chicken is just cooked through, about an hour or less. Remove bones and skin (reserve). Toss chicken and carrots in roasting juices. Set aside until ready to add.
In a stock pot, slice and sauté onion in olive oil until translucent. Add chicken bones and skins, 4 celery stalks each hand split in half, a generous handful of parsley stocks, and two 32 oz. boxes chicken or bone broth. Simmer until flavors are rendered about 1 ½ hours. Strain over a pot or large bowl to capture all broth. Return broth to stock pot along with remaining box of broth. Discard solids from strainer.
Slice remaining fresh celery; add to pot.
Coarsely cut fresh spinach with cooking shears. Sauté in a separate pan until all liquid is evaporated.
Cube chicken and slice roasted carrot pieces.
When vegetables are ready, add spinach, chicken, carrots and all the delicious roasting juices. Gradually add “Better Than Broth” to taste and saltiness.
Italians often serve with freshly grated parmigiana and crusty artisan bread.

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