Aguadita (Peruvian Chicken Soup)

Posted by jgreghenry

Summary

Yield
Source	Adapted from Saveur magazine
Prep Time	4 hours
Recipe	First Courses
Ingredients	scallions

Description

I know you have had chicken soup before, but this Peruvian version should make you look twice. It's got corn, potatoes, boiled egg and cilantro to make it very special indeed.

Ingredients

1 5â€“6-lb. stewing chicken or hen
2 leeks, trimmed, roughly chopped, and washed well
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 one inch piece ginger, peeled and smashed
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
6 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and halved
1 c rice
1 ear corn (or hominy) cut into 6 like sized rounds
salt and pepper to taste
1 bn cilantro leaves, minced (plus more whole leaves for garnish)
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
4 scallions, thinly sliced
3 limes, quartered
very hot red pepper hot sauce (to taste for garnish)

Instructions

Rinse chicken under cold water and remove and discard giblets (or set aside for another use). Put chicken, leeks, celery, carrots, ginger, garlic, and 5 quarts cold water into an 8-quart stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, skimming occasionally, until the broth becomes rich and golden, 3 1â„2 hours.

Using tongs, transfer chicken to a large plate; set aside. Set a fine sieve over a clean pot and strain broth into pot; discard vegetables. Add potatoes to broth, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until potatoes are very tender, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove and discard skin from chicken. Pull the chicken meat from the carcass; discard carcass. Tear chicken meat into at various sized chunks, from quite small to quite chunky. A varied texture is best.

Bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and corn (or hominy) pieces; cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Add the minced cilantro and reserved chicken pieces and allow them to warm through. Season soup with salt and pepper. Divide soup, some of the chicken, a potato and a piece of corn between 6 deep serving bowls. Garnish each portion with boiled eggs and some of the cilantro, scallions, limes, and hot sauce. Serve immediately.