Even though the winter solstice has passed and the days are slowly getting longer again, the gray skies and cold temperatures can make it difficult to remember that spring is on its way.
However, there’s an upside to cool weather and staying indoors more often, and that’s the making of simple, healthy cold-weather dishes. Winter is the perfect time to use up items you already have, in preparation for spring’s bounty.
For instance, chicken soup can use up whatever chicken carcasses you might have saved in the freezer from previous months. Using chicken carcasses enriches the soup broth and the roasted bones deepen both the flavor and color.
Even if you don’t save chicken carcasses, you can still make a great chicken soup. If you’re lucky enough to have a decent butcher section in your supermarket, purchase a stewing or soup chicken. These older, tougher birds aren’t the best for roasting but make a wonderful soup.
For dessert, enjoy this recipe for apple crumble. It’s easy to make, and the topping can be modified by mixing in chopped roasted pecans or other nuts, or raisins.
Flavorful Chicken Soup with Barley
Serves 4.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup each of medium chopped onions, carrots and celery
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
2 chicken carcasses (optional)
1 medium sized chicken, cut up (use a soup chicken if possible, for more flavor, or the last few pieces of a roasted chicken if you’re using carcasses)
Two bay leaves
3 sprigs each of parsley, thyme and marjoram, or 1 teaspoon of each in dried form
10 peppercorns
2 cups white wine (preferably chardonnay or sauvignon blanc)
3/4 cup of barley
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Pour oil into a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute them until the onions and celery are translucent. Add the carcasses, stock, wine and chicken, as well as the herbs and spices. Turn up the heat slightly and bring the mixture to a boil; turn down the heat to low so that the liquid simmers. Cover, and cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the chicken is fully cooked and tender to the point where it is easily removed from the bone. During cooking, occasionally skim the soup of any foam that rises to the top, as well as excess oil.
Remove the chicken, turn off the heat and allow the chicken to cool. Remove the meat from the bones, and dice the meat. Remove any bones that are still in the soup. Put the meat back in the liquid. Add the barley and simmer until the barley is fully cooked, about 1 hour. Serve immediately in warm bowls with some crusty bread or crackers.
Easy Apple Crumble
Serves 4.
Ingredients
4 medium cooking apples, peeled and cored
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
4 ounces softened butter
Pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon each cinnamon and nutmeg
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut up the apples into small pieces, about 1/2 inch each. Place in a shallow baking dish. Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and spices in a separate bowl, and blend in the butter with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is incorporated. Spoon the crumble mixture over the apples, covering as much of them as possible. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour, until the juice released from the apples begins to bubble.
Remove from the oven, and let sit for about 10 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla, cinnamon or dulce de leche ice cream, or whipped cream on the side for an extra treat.
Winter Cider
Serves 2.
Ingredients
2 cups apple or pear cider
2 cinnamon sticks
Two thick orange slices, pierced with 5 whole cloves each
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon spiced dark rum (optional)
Directions
Place all the ingredients except rum in a saucepan and heat over low flame until the liquid begins to simmer. Remove from heat and strain into 2 heatproof glasses or mugs. Divide the rum into the 2 mugs. Serve warm.
