~ Chicken soup w/ apples & leeks Recipe ~

 
                       Chicken Soup w/ Apples & Leeks
 
 Recipe By     : 
 Serving Size  : 6    Preparation Time :0:00
 Categories    : Soups                            Mc
 
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
    1                    Chicken -- quartered
                         Salt & Pepper -- to taste
    2      tablespoons   Butter
    3                    Leeks, w/ 1" green -- sliced
    2                    Granny Smith apples -- peeled
    1      cup           Apple juice
      1/2  cup           Vinegar
    3      cups          Chicken stock
    3      tablespoons   Calvados
      1/2  cup           Heavy cream
 
 Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Melt the butter over medium heat
 in a saute pan just large enough to hold the chicken.  Add the chicken, skin
 side down, and cook for about eight minutes over medium heat. If the butter
 in the pan starts to brown, lower the heat slightly. Turn the chicken and
 light saute in the same way for five minutes more.
 
  Remove the chicken from the pan and place it in a bowl.  If the butter in
 the saute pan has burned, pour it out and replace it with two tablespoons
 fresh butter.  Add the leeks and cook them for 10 minutes over medium heat.
 Stir the leeks every couple of minutes.
 They should be soft but not brown.
 
  Put the chicken back in the pan with the leeks.  Add the apples, apple
 juice, vinegar and broth.  Bring the liquids to a slow simmer and with a
 ladle skim off any fat or froth that floats to the top.  Cover the pot and
 simmer the chicken very gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until it is completely
 cooked.
 
  Remove the chicken and let it cool.  Remove and discard the skin and pull
 the meat away from the bones.  Cut the meat into half inch chunks.
 
  Use a ladle to skim off any fat that has formed on the surface of the
 liquid in a saute pan.  Add the Calvados and the heavy cream.  Bring to a
 simmer and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Heat the chunks of chicken
 in the soup for two minutes and serve immediately in hot bowls.
 
  Suggestions and variations:  Try adding a cup of sliced mushrooms along
 with the apples.  The mushroom flavor goes well with the other ingredients,
 and the mushrooms make the soup more substantial.  This soup is also
 delicious with curry, which can be added by gently cooking a tablespoon of
 curry powder in a tablespoon of butter and stirring it into the soup shortly
 before serving.
 
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