Since You Asked... (quick chicken stock, roasted red pepper soup)

Over the last days a few readers have commented that the chicken stock recipe looks good, but since they normally use canned chicken broth in their cooking, couldn’t they just substitute that for the home made stuff?  There are a number of reasons that I would not recommend that particular strategy.  

Flavor is the big reason to make your own.  Your stock will have a clean chicken taste, even when you reduce it to make a soup.  Secondly, the canned/boxed stuff has all sorts of ingredients.  Really, look at the side of the box.  Do you want chicken and aromatics or is it OK to include dextrose, caramel color, stabilizers, salts, preservatives, thickeners, whey and a bunch of stuff that I can’t spell?  Me, when I die, I want to decompose.  (the decomposition thing may become a theme)

Clarity should count for something.  The stock you’ll make will never come to a rolling boil.  All that fat and protein will be skimmed off the top leaving a crystal clear broth below.  I’ve never seen a commercial stock that wasn’t muddy.  If you use bones you will get double the yield with only a small additional cost.  Finally, chicken stock freezes well, why not make it yourself in big batches.

If you must use canned broth there is a way to fix it.  It involves watering down the canned broth to even out some of the off flavors, then enriching it with aromatics.  Don’t add any additional salt, there’s already plenty in the canned broth.  This isn’t a substitute for the real stuff, but it will do in a pinch.  And since today we are cooking with canned ingredients, there is also a recipe for a roasted pepper soup that has an oddball ingredient that gives it a velvety texture.

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Quick Chicken Stock

1 14 oz. can of chicken broth (or box)

28 oz. cold water

1 carrot, finely diced

½ spanish onion, finely diced

1 rib celery, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

½ tsp. dried thyme

2 bay leaves

4 black peppercorns

Combine all the ingredients in a large stockpot.  Slowly bring the stock to a low simmer.  Skim any scum that rises to the top.   

Simmer the stock for 30 minutes.  Strain through a fine strainer.

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Roasted Pepper Soup

1 28 oz. can roasted red peppers, drained, chopped, juice reserved

2 qts. chicken stock

½ loaf white bread, crusts removed

1 spanish onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

3 tbs. olive oil

3 tbs. fresh basil, sliced into thin strips

salt and pepper

In a heavy bottomed stockpot on low heat, sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are transparent.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the roasted peppers.  Sauté for five minutes, until they begin to brown.  Add the bread, stir to break it up and then add the chicken stock and pepper juice.  Increase the heat and bring the soup to a simmer.  Simmer for 30 minutes. 

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.  Puree the soup with a hand blender or a food mill. Serve hot during cooler months, or chilled in the summer, garnished with fresh basil.