CALDO DE GALLINA CRIOLLA O POLLO

This sunshine-in-a-bowl Caribbean recipe caught my eye as it seems just right for autumn..

Dominicans believe, like most cultures, that their chicken soup heals the sick. This one is brothy and comforting. Add noodles and the sweetness of squash, and you have a nutritious, tasty and satisfying dish. Noodles may absorb liquid from the broth; the soup will become thick. Add more stock as needed, or cook the noodles separately and add to individual bowls of soup. Other traditional additions to this soup are potato, carrots, yucca and oregano.

1 × 1.35 kg (3 lb) chicken, quartered 2 carrots, cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) pieces 1 yellow onion, cut into 1 cm (½ in)

cubes

3 garlic cloves, halved

2 bay leaves 1.9 litres water or chicken

stock

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons rendered chicken fat or

vegetable oil 3 celery stalks, cut into 1 cm (½ in)

cubes

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 squash, such as butternut, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 cm (½ in) cubes

115 g (4 oz) vermicelli or angel hair pasta, broken into 7.5 cm (3 in) pieces

½ bunch coriander) leaves, roughly

chopped

■ Place the chicken, carrots, onion, garlic and bay leaves in a pot large enough to snugly fit the chicken with the vegetables. Add the water or stock and the salt and weigh down the chicken under a few small plates to keep it submerged.

■ Bring to the boil, then immediately reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20–30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, a thermometer reads 74°C (165°F) when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh or breast and the juices of the chicken run clear.

When the chicken is cooked, strain the liquid to remove any solids and reserve the broth.

Leave the chicken until cool enough to handle, then remove the chicken skin and discard. Using your hands, shred all the meat and discard the bones. Set the chicken aside.

■ Rinse and dry the pot, then add the chicken fat or oil and melt over a medium– high heat.

■ Add the celery, garlic and calabaza or squash and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to soften.The calabaza should still be slightly undercooked.

Season the vegetables with salt, add the reserved broth and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 3–5 minutes until the calabaza is tender.

■ Add the pasta and chicken meat and simmer gently for a further 3–4 minutes until the pasta is cooked.

Season with salt and garnish with cilantro.

The Chicken Soup Manifesto: Recipes from around the world by Jenn Louis (Hardie Grant, £22)