It's been damp and chilly for quite a few days. All I seem to want is soup. Today, I decided on a soup I have not had since--oh well, it's been a long, long time.
Chicken-pastina soup.
I had to go find the pastina--little pasta things; these were shaped like stars.
Boiled a whole chicken in a large spaghetti pot with leeks, fennel, and bay leaves.
In a large soup pot, sauteed chopped carrots, onions, fennel, and garlic in an olive oil/basil ice cube that I freeze at the end of basil season. While they cooked, I lifted the chicken in the spaghetti insert from the boiled water--kept the water simmering--and broke up the chicken meat, tossing the skin.
When the vegetables had started to brown, I made a roux in a corner of the pot, then added some Madeira, stirring all the while. After the roux blended with the Madeira, I added the boiling chicken water, the chicken pieces, chopped parsley, and 1.5 cup pastina--set the soup to simmer for half an hour.
I remember mama.