Chicken Soup (Canja de Galinha)

There is nothing as comforting as chicken soup. Canja, with countless versions and variations, is served all over Brazil and is regarded as one of the national dishes. Brazilians fell in love with this soup almost 500 years ago, when the Portuguese fi rst introduced them to rice. This recipe involves some extra steps, which are not part of most soup recipes. Making your own chicken soup is worth all the effort that goes into it, though, and it’s a great way to make new friends. Everyone will want a bowlful.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
• 1 3 ½-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces,
• preferably organic
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 medium-size onion
• 1 whole clove
• 1 large carrot
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 10 cups water
• ½ cup long-grain rice
• 5 sprigs fresh mint

On your mark . . .
• Wash the chicken pieces, pat them dry with a paper towel, and lay them in a large bowl.

• Wash your hands with lots of hot soapy water.

• Lay the garlic cloves on a cutting board and slightly crush them with the flat side of a knife. Cut off the stem end and discard it. Roughly chop the garlic.

• Sprinkle the salt over the chopped garlic and mash it with a fork. Continue to mash until the garlic and salt combine into a paste.

• Add the garlic-and-salt combination to the chicken pieces.

• Toss well with a spoon to coat the chicken with the paste, cover with foil, and refrigerate for up to 2 hours to marinate.

Get set . . .
• Just before the chicken has finished marinating, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

• Press the clove into the skin of the onion. You will cook the onion whole in the soup.

• Wash and peel the carrot and set aside.

Cook!
• Remove the chicken from the refrigerator.

• Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan large enough to hold all the ingredients. A Dutch oven or soup pot will work best.

• Once the oil is hot but not smoking, brown the chicken pieces on both sides. You will have to do this in two batches, as there won’t be enough room in the pan to cook all the pieces at once.

• Remove the browned pieces to a clean platter, and ask your adult assistant to drain the fat from the pot. Leave the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. They will add additional flavor to the soup.

• Return the chicken to the pot along with the onion, carrot, bay leaf, black pepper, and the water and bring it to a boil over high heat. This will take 15 to 20 minutes.

• Once it boils, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot leaving the lid slightly ajar, and cook for 1 ½ hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

• Several times during cooking carefully skim the foam or fat that rises to the top.

• When the chicken is done, turn off the heat. Ask your adult assistant to remove the chicken pieces and the carrot from the broth with a slotted spoon and lay them on a clean tray or platter to cool. Discard the onion.

• Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl or pan, then pour it back into the pot it was just cooked in.

• Return the broth to a boil over high heat, then add the rice, and 1 teaspoon salt.

• As soon as the broth boils again, reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender.

• In the meantime, remove the skin from the chicken and discard. Pull the meat off the bones and tear it into medium-size pieces. Discard the chicken bones.

• Slice the carrot into small cubes, then add the chicken and carrots to the pan. Heat the soup through for 5 minutes.

• In the meantime, wash the mint, remove the leaves from the stems, and tear the leaves in half.

• Serve the soup hot and garnish each bowl with a few of the mint leaves.

This Soup Recipe was published in 'The Cooking Of Brazil (Seconds Edition) by "Matthew Locricchio" - p23 To p24'

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