Name: Chicken Soup with Garlic, Saffron, Basil, and Tomatoes
Yield: Makes 8 First-Course or 4 Main-Course Servings
Ingredients: 1 bouquet garni; salt and pepper; 1 bunch of spinach, stems removed, 1 cup packed leaves, shredded (chiffonade); 2 cups saffron and garlic mayonnaise; 6 medium-size mushrooms, sliced; slices of French bread, lightly toasted; 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth; 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped, about 1-½ cups; 1 leek, white part only, washed and chopped; 1 small turnip, peeled and chopped; 1 medium-size carrot, chopped; 5 medium-size tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 2-½ cups canned, seeded and drained, chopped; ½ cup heavy cream; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 3-pound chicken, quartered; 1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves; ½ cup fresh, cooked dried, or canned cannellini, Great Northern, or borlotti beans

Preparation info

Makes
8
First-Course

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Splendid Soups

By James Peterson

Published 2000

About

This is another one of those soups that I use to squelch my sporadic but overwhelming cravings for garlic. It is very similar to a Mediterranean bourride except that chicken is used instead of fish.

You can make this soup as simple or as complicated as you like. When I’m home alone, I quickly simmer a cut-up chicken in a little broth and whisk in some saffron and garlic mayonnaise that I throw together while the chicken is cooking. The version given here is really an elaborat