Sunday Supper: Chicken Bouillabaisse Soup

Ok, this isn't exactly a Sunday Supper, more like a Friday supper but I had to share!


Yesterday I felt just terrible at work. I had the chills, my ears hurt like they had an infection and I had a very sore throat. On my lunch I found out I was running a fever! 101 degrees! I didn't feel right going home because I had been out sick a day last week plus a coworker ended up leaving yesterday. So I tried to stick it out but was just miserable by the time work was done. So I came home, took a very warm bath and promptly fell asleep on the couch.


Mark woke me up a few hours later with this yummy soup he made for me. This is Williams-Sonoma's Chicken Bouillabaisse soup. It is delicious! I know it was labor intensive, I mean he bought a whole chicken and made the stock from scratch. Luckily he made a full batch so I am having another bowl of the soup as I type this right now :)

So if you have ample time to make dinner or want to make the best chicken soup for a sick loved one try this recipe:


Ingredients:

1 chicken, 4 to 5 lb., cut into serving pieces, including backbone
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. canola oil
2 yellow onions, 1 quartered, 1 diced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
3 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced, stems and fronds reserved
4 cups water
6 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
2 Tbs. chicken demi-glace
1 1⁄4 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut 1⁄2 inch thick
Pinch of saffron threads
2 tsp. Pernod (optional)
1 Tbs. minced fresh chervil
1 Tbs. minced fresh tarragon
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice


Directions:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the oil. Working in batches, brown the chicken on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Add the quartered onion, garlic, fennel stems, water, stock and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the meat nearly falls off the bones, about 1 1¿2 hours. Discard the onion, garlic, fennel stems, bay leaves and backbone.

Transfer the chicken to a colander and let cool. Cut the meat into 1¿2-inch pieces; discard the skin and bones. Skim the fat off the stock and whisk in the demi-glace.

In a fry pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Add the diced onion and sliced fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the onion mixture to the stock along with the potatoes, saffron and Pernod. Set the pot over medium heat and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken, chervil, tarragon and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.


~Hannah

Image from here