Some magic from the Cancer-Fighting Kitchen:
My neighbor Julie and I are soup sisters. We have one of those friendships where I can barge into her house uninvited and nine times out of ten I’ll find Julie in the kitchen making soup. She’s so good at it that whenever I return from an out-of-town job, the first place I make dinner reservations is her house. Last winter we were canoodling on a hearty chicken broth recipe. Suddenly we realized that we already had an incredible foundation in the Magic Mineral Broth recipe – page 49 – Cancer-Fighting Kitchen – with its rich color, aroma, flavor, and impressive nutritional profile. Here, we’ve enhanced Magic Mineral Broth by adding chicken bones, infusing the soup with even more bone-building calcium and phosphorus.
MAKES: 6 to 7 quarts
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 4 hours
6 unpeeled carrots, cut into thirds
2 unpeeled yellow onions, cut into chunks
2 leeks, white and green parts, cut into thirds
1 bunch celery, including the heart, cut into thirds
4 unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
2 unpeeled Japanese or regular sweet potatoes, quartered
1 unpeeled Garnet sweet potato, quartered
8 unpeeled cloves garlic, halved
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 (6-inch) strip of kombu
12 black peppercorns
4 whole allspice or juniper berries
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 organic chicken carcass or 2 pounds of chicken bones
8 quarts cold, unfiltered water
1 teaspoon sea salt
Rinse all of the vegetables well, including the kombu. In a 12-to 16-quart stockpot, combine the carrots, onions, leeks, celery, potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic, parsley, kombu, peppercorns, allspice berries, bay leaves, vinegar, and chicken carcass. Fill the pot with the water to 2 inches below the rim, cover, and bring to a boil.
Remove the lid, decrease the heat to low, and skim off the scum that has risen to the top. Simmer, uncovered, for at least 2 hours. As the broth simmers, some of the water will evaporate; add more if the vegetables begin to peek out. Simmer until the bones begin to soften and fall apart, about 4 hours, or as long as you’re willing to let it simmer away.
Strain the broth through a large, coarse-mesh sieve, then stir in salt to taste. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight. Skim off as much fat as you can from the top of the broth, then portion into airtight containers and refrigerate or freeze.
COOK’S NOTE: Here’s a trick of the trade: Once you’ve skimmed the fat from the surface of the broth, you can remove even more by dabbing the surface of the broth with paper towels to sop it up.
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
PER SERVING: Calories: 50; Total Fat: 0 g; Carbohydrates: 11 g; Protein: 1 g; Fiber: 2 g; Sodium: 145 mg
With her love of health and writing, Melissa has written for such publications as Shape, Natural Solutions, Yoga Journal, Self and Pilates Style, and has created recipes and food-oriented stories for such publications as Delicious Living and Cooking Light.
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