Mirepoix Is Not a Childhood Disease! (chicken and vegetable puree soup)

What we are really doing as cooks is working to bring out the best in our ingredients.  Most of the time, you simply want to get out of the way of the food and let flavors shine.  That means using quality ingredients and easily understood technique that allows for clean, clear, unimpeded taste. 

Here’s an example.  When I teach soup making, we do a side-by-side test.  Using identical ingredients, we boil everything together in one pot and in the second we sauté the aromatics then simmer the soup.  It is a crappy v. good technique face off.  The boiled soup really does taste different.  It has a flatter taste.  It has less depth of flavor and the texture, its mouth feel, isn’t as velvety.  Proper procedure and good cooking technique matter.  When you sauté the aromatic vegetables, you build layers of flavor.

Today we’ll be working to understand the value of that classic French mix of aromatics, mirepoix.  This blend of chopped carrot, onion and celery is the flavor base for numerous stocks, soups and stews in the western tradition.  Like the Spanish sofrito or that Cajun combination of green bell pepper, celery, scallion and parsley, mirepoix provides a distinctive character which identifies the food as French.  Think of it this way, without ginger, garlic and scallions Asian foods would not have their great flavor complexity.  The same can be said for mirepoix.

Our recipe today is a variation on the soup that Cathy Farrell cooked for dinner last night.  She is a very good cook.  It is the perfect thing for a winter night, thick, rich with a huge, complex flavor.  Additionally, it is almost fat free and is packed with healthy vegetables, and if you must, gluten-free.  We had deep bowls of her soup with thick slices of crusty bread with butter.  The recipe makes a big pot, so do like the Farrells and have a bowl for breakfast or for lunch with a grilled cheese to dunk.

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Chicken and Vegetable Puree Soup

1 3# chicken, quartered

1 c. carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 c. onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 c. celery, peeled and roughly chopped

2 white turnips, peeled and roughly chopped

10 oz. canned crushed tomatoes

12 c. water

3 tbs. chopped parsley

salt and pepper

Put a large, heavy stockpot on the stove on low heat.  Remove the thick fat from the chicken.  Put it in the pot and sweat out about a teaspoon of fat.  Remove the remainder of the fat, the part that has not liquefied, and discard it.

Increase the heat to medium, sauté the mirepoix (the carrots onions and celery) in the chicken fat until their aroma is released and the onions are transparent.  Add the turnips, sauté for about 5 minutes, until they soften.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken.  Season with salt and pepper and sauté everything until the chicken begins to brown.  Add the tomatoes and water.  Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil.  Skim any proteins that rise to the top, reduce the heat to medium and slowly simmer the soup for 45 minutes, skimming occasionally.

With long handled tongs, remove the chicken and set aside to cool.  With a hand blender or food mill puree the soup and keep it warm.  Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper. 

When the chicken has cooled, remove and discard the skin and pick the bones clean of the meat.  Shred the meat into bite-sized pieces with your hands.  Return the chicken to the soup.  Save the bones for stock.  Bring the soup to a high serving temperature.  One final time, adjust the flavor with salt and pepper.  Stir in the chopped parsley before serving in large bowls.