Quick Chicken Soup

Chicken Soup, originally uploaded by essgee51.

Was feeling poorly, so came home early on Wednesday afternoon. Thankfully, I had just enough energy to make a pot of this quick (about 40 minutes from start to finish, and I'm a very slow prepper) and surprisingly tasty soup. I think the bouquet garni (pictured here) made a big difference, and the parsnips helped as well. At any rate, I lived on this soup (augmented by buttered noodles and a can of potato sticks) through Thursday night, and am convinced it's part of the reason I was well enough to return to work on Friday.

• 5-6 large parsley stems
• 5-6 thyme stems
• 2 t. black peppercorns
• 1-2 T neutral oil (used grapeseed)
• 6-8 small garlic cloves, smashed
• 1-1/2 cup onion, chopped (one large one)
• 1 heaping cup celery, chopped (about 1/2 in.)
• 1 heaping cup carrots, chopped (about 1/2-1 in.)
• 3/4 cup parsnips, chopped (about 1/2-1 in.)
• 1.5 lb. chicken thighs (three huge ones)
• 1 quart chicken stock (store-bought, in this case)
• salt and pepper to taste

Put the parsley, thyme and peppercorn into a cheesecloth pouch and tie the ends together.

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the garlic, onions, celery and carrots till they begin to soften, 3-5 minutes. Add chicken, skin-side down, and cook till it begins to color (3-5 minutes), turning once.

Add the stock and the parsnips. Bring to a boil, then cover, lower the temperature and simmer till the chicken's done, about 30 minutes.

Adjust seasoning and serve.