Chicken Meatball Soup
Winter is nearly over here at Vineyard Cottages and while it’s been very very mild, on the chilly nights a good soup always warms the cockles. The DDH and I have managed to bypass the ghastly bugs that have flattened some members of our team and while I’m a firm believer in the Hakanoa Ginger, honey and lemon syrup to ward off all ailments in life, a bowl of this soup will do the trick too.
As we end up with a lot of chicken frames and stock bits throughout the week, I throw them into the freezer and have a big boil up once or twice a month. The resulting stock gets portioned into freezer and fridge containers for use over the next week, but soup is always the first meal made from them.
Our lemon trees are groaning with fruit and using preserved lemons and fresh lemons in this recipe gives it a real citrus kick. Also hot on the ingredients list are nutmeg and parsnips, both of which I think are fabulous friends for chicken.
For Two
Ingredients.
4 plump boneless and skinless chicken thighs (about 300g)
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 egg
1 cup spinach
1/8 preserved lemon rind washed
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper
Juice one lemon
Bunch of herbs (I had parsley, chives, thyme and garlic chives)
In a food processor blitz together in the following order:
Onion, Garlic, Chicken, Lemon, Spinach, Egg, Breadcrumbs, Oregano, Herbs, Juice of one lemon and Salt and pepper
The mixture will be spongy and soft. If it’s gummy and thick add 1/4 cup of chicken stock slowly until the consistency is more mousse like than dough like.
With wet hands form walnut sized meatballs and cool for 15 minutes min in the fridge.
Bring 1 litre of good quality chicken stock to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer. Gently poach the meatballs until thoroughly cooked through. They should not break apart if you cook them slowly. A vigorous boil and they will disintegrate faster than a soft toy given to one of my dogs. Add what even vegetables / noodle / pasta you fancy to the broth to bulk out but its surprisingly filling by itself. We had lots left over for lunch the next day.