CURE IN A BOWL
Chefs share favorite soups to fight cold and flu
If the sneezes echoing in your office or complaints of after-school tummy aches aren't yet making it clear, allow us: 'Tis the season for winter colds and flus.
kitchen needs a cure-all soup. For some, it's a family recipe passed down through many generations worth of crumpled tissues. For others, it's just a hot, heaping hodgepodge of every ailment-combating herb and spice in the pantry. We asked a few local chefs to share their tastiest treatments. Avgolemono Soup
By Jimmy Christopher, owner of Gyro City
Since he immigrated to America 48 years ago, Christopher has built a number of successful restaurants — including Brothers Kouzina, a family-run gem on Route 1 in Peabody, and Gyro City, a casual Greek grill with locations near Fenway Park and in Brighton, where a second spot opened in September. But one of Christopher's specialties, his avgolemono soup, is rooted in a recipe prepared by his grandmother back when he was growing up in Kalamata, Greece. She'd make it whenever a family member was sick. Said Christopher: “She called it Greek penicillin.” Here's the prescription. AVGOLEMONO SOUP 1 whole chicken
1 carrot
1 onion
1 celery stalk
1 c. rice
1 t. cornstarch
2 eggs
Juice of 2 lemons Salt and pepper to taste Put the chicken in a large, deep pot, add vegetables and 3 liters of water. Bring to a boil. During this time, foam will form on the surface; remove it with a ladle.
Once at a boil, lower the heat and cover the pot. Simmer until the chicken is tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pot and put it on a platter, cover it to keep warm.
Remove the vegetables from the pot. Add the rice. Boil until the rice is cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pull the pot off
the heat to cut the boil.
In a bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the lemon juice. Beat the eggs and add the juice. Take a little soup from the pot and dilute the egg-lemon mixture to balance the egg temperature, always tapping the mixture.
Serve the chicken soup in a bowl, and add chopped chicken. Serves 4-6.
Grandma’s Kale Soup By Jason Santos, chef at Buttermilk & Bourbon and Citrus & Salt
Santos lived through the fire of “Hell's Kitchen” to emerge as runner-up on the hit Fox show's seventh season. But when flu-like temperatures are on the rise, Santos serves up a big bowl of his Portuguese grandmother's kale soup, a hot and healthful concoction finished off with a bit of apple cider vinegar — to cut through any hard-to-kick cold. Grandma’s Kale soup 8 c. chicken broth
2 links Gaspar's brand linguica, casing removed and crumbled
4 cloves garlic, minced 1 Spanish onion, diced
A t. red pepper flakes
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled
and blanched
1 bunch kale, stems
removed and chopped 2 c. cooked white rice Salt and pepper to taste
Add everything in a pot and simmer until kale and potatoes are soft. Serve hot and add 1⁄2-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to each bowl. Serves 4.
Turmeric, Brown Rice and Barley Congee
By Rebecca Arnold, chef and co-owner of Whole Heart Provisions
At Whole Heart Provisions, her veggie-focused fast-casual eatery in Allston, Arnold proves that eating healthy doesn't mean settling for ho-hum flavors. Soon, she'll be bringing her vibrant bowls of elaborately adorned greens and grains to even more diners. Whole Heart is opening two locations in Cambridge this year: one just outside Central Square near MIT, the other inside Harvard University's Smith Campus Center. With so much pre-opening work to do, Arnold can't afford to get sick now — so here's a congee she concocted during a recent snowstorm filled with immune-system-boosting ingredients like turmeric and ginger.
“When I'm under the weather, I'm a total soup fiend. One of my favorites is congee, which is a rice porridge served in many Asian countries. It is traditionally made with white rice and it takes on the flavor of the stock that you cook it in. I like to switch it up by using whole grains like brown rice and barley. I cook it low and slow in a highly fragrant veggie stock until the grains are super soft. For healing, the stock is packed with turmeric, ginger and garlic. I love to top the congee with lots of spicy items that will also help kick out colds and flu!” Turmeric, Brown rice and Barley conGee For the vegetable stock: 4 carrots, peeled and thinly
sliced
2 onions, cut in quarters,
skins left on
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced 1 t. whole black pepper 1 head of garlic, chopped in
half along the equator
2 t. turmeric powder (or 1-inch knob of turmeric, peeled and thinly sliced) 3-inch knob of ginger,
peeled and thinly sliced 1 star anise pod
4 qts. water For the congee: 1 c. brown rice
E c. barley
Salt to taste
Miso to taste (optional)
Put all stock ingredients into a large stockpot. Heat over high until boiling, then turn down and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Strain your stock, reserving the liquid and discarding the veggies.
Return stock to the stockpot and add brown rice and barley.
Bring mixture to a boil and then cover halfway and turn down to a simmer.
Simmer for 1 1⁄2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally so the grains don't stick to the bottom of the pot.
Once the grains have swelled and burst and the congee is nice and thick, season to taste with salt. (At this point you could add some miso for seasoning, too.) You can add some water if the congee has gotten too thick.
Serve in a bowl with lots of garnish items. Some ideas: fried garlic, bamboo shoots in chili oil, hot sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, scallions, toasted peanuts and soy sauce. Serves 4-6.
Note: To save time, you can start with a storebought stock and add ginger, turmeric, garlic and star anise. Simmer for 30 minutes, then strain.