The Flu is Back...

How could it not be?... this crazy weather, the saying runs... .....the global warming...

We have a remedy : something in common between western Grandmothers and Chinese belief:

the Chicken Soup

Above all, we need a good Chicken Broth. For a good chicken Broth, we need a good hen. A farm raised hen, a hen that has lived happily free, making love with the rooster, raising kids, picking worms, little stones and grass in the field, chatting with the cousins ducks, growing muscolar and taught. 

When you have your healthy grown hen, you clean and cut it in big pieces.

The you need one large onion, one big carrot, one celery stalk, one optional tomato. Pleonastic to say they have to be mandatorily organic. Pesticides are not part of the recipe.

You weigh your food, hen and vegetables, then calculate 4 times the water.

Put everything in a tall pot, bring to boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer gently for about 2 and half hours, taking off the froth forming on the surface.

At the end regulate the salt, then drain.

Keep the broth in the refrigerator and next day, take off the solidified fat floating on it. 

At this point you are ready to cook a creamy vellutè.

Also in this case we need to deal with numbers and mathematic proportions.

1 - 1 - 10

one part of butter

one part of flour

10 parts of broth

the broth must be warm.

In a pot, melt the butter, mix in th eflour with a whisk, then pour the broth. Bring to boil and turn off.

If you want it less thick, use less flour. 

This simple soup can be refined with different seasonings and garnish.

Regulate salt.

You cal also add pepper or/and nut meg

You can make some croutons, small cubes of bread baked with extra virgin olive oil and salt

Fresh chopped parsley is another option.

As well as little pieces of boiled chicken.

A drizzle of fresh cheese... why not? Or sour cream. 

If you want it traditional, a snowfall of grated Parmigiano Reggiano would make you happy. And recovered from the flu.