As promised, I am going to post my latest cooking adventures.
The dandelion soup recipe I found on the net was based on an old Italian family recipe and I have made my own changes to suit our taste.
If you search for dandelion recipes you’ll often find Cream of Dandelion as a popular soup recipe. I wanted something a bit different and was very happy when I found a chicken and dandelion soup which sounded hearty and quite rustic.
Verdict? Even the children loved it!! Light of my Life commented on the meatballs being boiled but he didnt mind the flavour. Little Trouble (5) who never eats anything remotely green – LOVED it. For the little ones I added some pasta into the bowl to make eating easier. Bon Appetito!
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Chicken & Dandelion Soup
Ingredients
• 1 chicken (4 to 4 1/2 pounds)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound lean double-ground beef
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup grated provolone picante, plus more for garnish
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 large carrots, cut into 3 lengths each
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 4 lengths each
• 1 medium parsnip, scraped
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 cups wild dandelions, washed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Serves 6
Directions
Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper
Place chicken in a large soup pot. Add carrots, celery, parsnip and bay leaves. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and allow to boil gently for 30 minutes. Skim off the scum that rises to the top. Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to rest, covered, in the hot broth for 60 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth.
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Pick the meat off the bones, cover and set aside. Put bones and skin back in the broth. Partially cover, then boil gently over medium heat for about 2 hours.
Strain the broth, discard the solids. Pour the broth in a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the dandelion greens and boil for about 15 minutes, until the greens are tender.
In a bowl, combine the beef, egg, basil, the lemon zest, 1/3 cup cheese, onion, and salt and pepper to taste. Form small meatballs, add to the soup along with lemon juice and cook about 4 minutes.
To serve, place a few pieces of chicken meat in the bowl. Ladle the hot dandelion greens and broth over the chicken. Add some meatballs and . garnish with the remaining cheese.
Notes: If you have a fatty chook the soup will benefit from de-fatting. In my case I put the whole thing in the fridge overnight, scooped off the solidified fat before I added the meatballs and greens. Also, my dandelions were more mature than I would have liked and were insanely bitter. A quick blanch in boiling water took away the most offensive taste.
Stay herbal
AnkeB
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