So this weekend my dear friend and fellow-blogger Mary-Lorraine left me to my own devices for not one, but TWO blog-meals. She went to the wilds of Vermont DESPITE Friday being national soup day AND Monday being Martin Luther King day, which, like all no-work Mondays, is a day of extra complicated (or at least long) souping. And sometimes bread baking. I know, intense.
The upshot was that I had a wonderful weekend with some friends I don't normally see. Friday I hosted Alexa, Elizabeth and Drew (all former Amigos volunteers and incredibly entertaining) for a vegan Ethiopian feast that featured not one, not two, but three stews and some hand-purchased-from-a-restaurant traditional bread, and then Monday Lindsay came over to share some Martha Stewart inspired cock-a-leekie soup with home-made rolls from Kate's Mom's recipe. Deeeelicious.
You'll have to check Friday's Dinners for the Ethiopian food, but here is some good old chicken soup with a twist of... prunes? Don't worry, it was delicious.
Cock-a-Leekie Soup
This soup starts in the afternoon, so make sure you’ve got enough time on your hands!!!
• Start off my taking a 3-4 lb chicken and put it in a dutch oven. Chop one onion into eighths, two large carrots into big sized chunks, about 4 celery sticks and peel about 6 cloves of garlic. Arrange them all around the chicken except two of the garlic cloves.
• Stuff a bundle of fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano into the body cavity of the chicken (check to make sure they don’t have the bagged intestines inside... gross, but important) with the two cloves of garlic, and spread a smaller bundle around with the onions and carrots. Sprinkle the whole she-bang with salt and pepper.
• Cook on very low heat for about two hours
• When the chicken is cooked, let it cool off for a little bit and then pull it, the veggies and any herbs out of the pot, leaving any liquid in the bottom of the dutch oven and set aside
• Put about four pints of broth into the pot and bring to a simmer
• Add half a cup of barley (dry), about 7 leeks (white and light green parts only) lightly chopped and about fifteen dried and pitted prunes cut into quarters. Cook for about forty minutes until the barley is cooked through
• While the soup is cooking, let the chicken and reserved veggies cool.... roughly chop them and set them aside. De-bone the chicken, discarding the skin and keeping the bones to make broth later, and shredding the meat into bite-sized pieces.
• Once the barley is cooked through, add the veggies and about half of the chicken meat back into the soup, along with a handful of fresh parsely
• Simmer for about ten more minutes and eat!
Egg Buns (From Kate’s mom)
This is another one that takes a while! Just so you know!
• Soften 2 teaspoons of dry yeast in 2 tablespoons of warm (not hot) water. Let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients together.
• Beat 2 eggs, 5/8 cup of whole milk and 1/3 cup melted butter together. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar and yeast mixture. Stir well.
• Slowly beat in flour, first a cup, then in half cup increments or less. The MOST you should use is 3 cups, but you might not need it all. When dough is no longer runny, turn it out onto a well-floured surface (really put a lot of flour on there, not just a dusting) and knead for 10 minutes. Add more flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the surface, but try to use as little flour as possible. You want your dough to be very tender and soft, like a baby’s bottom, not stiff.
• Put dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a moist cloth or plastic wrap, and set in a warm place for 1- 1.5 hours until it has doubled in size. If you stick your finger in the dough and the depression bounces back, let it rise a bit more.
• Turn the dough out onto the floured surface (just a dusting this time) and cut into 12 equal pieces. Form each into a roll and place on a baking sheet that has been dusted with cornmeal (or greased with oil or butter) about 1” – 2” apart. Cover the rolls with the cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until double in size (same test with your finger).
• Bake in preheated oven at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until brown.
This is another one that takes a while! Just so you know!
• Soften 2 teaspoons of dry yeast in 2 tablespoons of warm (not hot) water. Let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients together.
• Beat 2 eggs, 5/8 cup of whole milk and 1/3 cup melted butter together. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar and yeast mixture. Stir well.
• Slowly beat in flour, first a cup, then in half cup increments or less. The MOST you should use is 3 cups, but you might not need it all. When dough is no longer runny, turn it out onto a well-floured surface (really put a lot of flour on there, not just a dusting) and knead for 10 minutes. Add more flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the surface, but try to use as little flour as possible. You want your dough to be very tender and soft, like a baby’s bottom, not stiff.
• Put dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a moist cloth or plastic wrap, and set in a warm place for 1- 1.5 hours until it has doubled in size. If you stick your finger in the dough and the depression bounces back, let it rise a bit more.
• Turn the dough out onto the floured surface (just a dusting this time) and cut into 12 equal pieces. Form each into a roll and place on a baking sheet that has been dusted with cornmeal (or greased with oil or butter) about 1” – 2” apart. Cover the rolls with the cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until double in size (same test with your finger).
• Bake in preheated oven at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until brown.
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