Trendsurfing

There is a general trend in the cooking world towards “simple.” One only need flip trough most any food magazine to confirm. Recipes for salads, ten-minuet-dinners, and stir-and-serve meals abound. I can't count the number of food articles I've read that begin with “In today's fast-paced world, who can spend hours in the kitchen?”

This trend aims to combine speedy preparation with a minimum of ingredients and has spawned countless, brightly photographed, completely forgettable cookbooks. One of these I recently flipped through was built around the claim that each dish only contained five ingredients. The book might as well have been entitled “Cooking Without Your Imagination” for all the inspiration between its covers.

Who needs to be told how to toss frozen veggies with a can of cream of mushroom soup and then pour it over pasta? Who needs a recipe for chili cheese dogs that includes canned chili? Who, for the love of god, needs guidance cutting a tomato in half, seasoning it, and baking it in the oven? Someone does, I guess, because the publishing houses keep pumping out the cookbooks. Not you or I, at any rate.

Nevertheless, I'll try my hand at five ingredients, that is if you'll allow me to call a bouquet garni one ingredient.



I love chicken soup. It's head-cold season in the southern hemisphere and I've been thinking often about the soothing qualities of golden chicken broth. It occurred to me that I could make a stellar soup if I set out to make a prefect white chicken stock. Below is a recipe for stock/soup. It works perfectly for either.

Simple Chicken Soup

2 drumsticks, organic, cornfed, you know the drill
4 carrots, peeled, 1cm dice
2 sticks celery, 1cm dice
1 small brown onion, fine dice

bouquet garni

1 clove garlic, crushed
5 whole black peppercorns
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf

First, make the bouquet garni. Place the garlic, herbs, and spices into a muslin bag, or, alternately, fold them carefully into a cheek of onion and tie them together, as in the photo.

Place the prepared veggies in the bottom of a small pot, top with the chicken, and add the bouquet garni. Cover with cold water and bring just to a simmer over medium heat, skimming any fat and scum that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to low so that the liquid is just “ticking.” It is important to not allow the soup to come to a full, rolling boil, as this will result in a cloudy broth.

Simmer, without stirring, skimming occasionally, for 3-4 hours. Remove from heat and let stand ten minuets. Using tongs, remove and discard the bouquet garni. Remove the chicken from the broth. Once the meat has cooled enough to touch, discard the skin and pick the meat from the bones. Return this to the broth, salt and pepper to taste, and get to eating.

If you are after stock, follow all the cooking instructions above. Carefully strain the stock and discard the solids.