Making your own chicken stock is not as hard as it is made out to be, AND with a pressure cooker, it is even easier, and faster. I like using the backs, as it makes a more full-bodied chicken stock (the good stuff from inside the bones!!!). I also prefer to use uncooked chicken parts, rather than the remains of roasted birds, as I think the flavour is cleaner and brighter. Using the pressure cooker also results in a really clear stock .
So, in 6 easy steps… in the time it takes to make dinner…
The result: 13 1/2 cups of chicken stock, 1/2 of which went into the freezer and 1/2 into the fridge.
Benefits: way better tasting than canned or tetra pack chicken stock; way cheaper (this batch cost <$2.00 total); total control over things like salt and fat content.
Give it a try sometime. Dinner took about 1 hour in total to make (roasted in the oven), and the stock was all done except the refrigerating by the time dinner was ready. I used some of this to make cauliflower soup the following day.
]]>Caramelized Onion, Celeriac and Potato Soup
3 cups onions, sliced thin from pole to pole
5-6 medium garlic cloves
1/2 cup sherry
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
4 cups celeriac, diced
3 cups potatoes, diced
8 cups stock
Saute the onions over medium-high heat, reduce heat and cook until caramelized. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Deglaze with sherry, and cook until sherry is reduced by 1/2.
Add celery seed, celeriac, potatoes and stock, and bring to a simmmer. Cook until celeriac and potatoes are very tender. Remove from heat and puree. Garnish with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
To go with the soup, I made an Olive-Feta-Shallot roll using the Buttermilk bread dough from the Artisan Bread book.
I think i like this dough even better than the enriched sandwich dough, so will probably have a batch of this going every other dough cycle. The Feta cheese was pre-crumbled with garlic and herbs, the olives were marinated, and the shallots just sliced thin and sprinkled on the dough raw — roll everything up, and let the dough rest for about 1 hour before baking — voila — tasty bread to go with the soup.
Finally, I leave you with my attempt to turn a humble muffin into food p*rn!
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