made chicken lentil soup, but it's hard to get a full-flavored broth

[tigereye]

We don't use much salt since the husband needs a low-salt diet... I was aiming for something similar to the wonderful chicken-lentil soup of the Middle Eastern restaurant.

Wonder what I'm missing... :shrug: Any ideas?


used this recipe from Recipezar, minus the night before part... ;)


Ingredients

* 2 1/2 lbs skinless chicken, cut in pieces
* 1 1/2 cups lentils
* 1/2 cup split peas
* 3 quarts water
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 cup chopped carrot
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
* 1/2 teaspoon whole thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
* 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
* 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Directions


The night before serving, bring skinned, defatted chicken, lentils and split peas to a boil in water.

Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours.

Remove chicken; bone, dice, and refrigerate.

The next day, remove and discard any congealed fat.

Add celery, carrots, onion, parsley, thyme, pepper, turmeric, sage and poultry seasoning.

Simmer 1 1/4 hours.

Just before serving, add diced chicken and heat thoroughly.

[grasswire]

1. wouldn't a Middle Eastern recipe use garlic?

Just curious.

[grasswire]

2. on google

Here's a Lebanese soup:

6 cups chicken stock 1 pound red lentils 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 large onion, chopped 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 cup chopped cilantro 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

and there are a bunch of ME lentil soups at http://www.ifood.tv/network/middle_eastern_lentil_lemon_soup/recipes

[tigereye]

4. thanks - I saw some of those

what I really need to do is worm the recipe out of my favorite ME restaurant here. :D

[tigereye]

3. yeah, I added some - but they probably use a lot more than I did...

hmm, another one I looked at did have garlic, as well as turmeric and cumin.

[surrealAmerican]

5. All the seasoning quantities seem too low.

I'd probably also add garlic and cumin too.

[tigereye]

6. oh, yeah, I put in way more than what they specified (plus cloves of garlic)

I really think after it had time to sit in the fridge over-night, the flavors were able to blossom some.

[Retrograde]

7. sound like you need a good chicken stock

you need all those bony parts and some skin to make a decent stock, and it will take longer than 2 hours of slow simmering. When I make stock I simmer it to the point where the bones can be easily broken by hand: Alton Brown did a show about stock where he talks at length on how the collagen and connective tissue on the chicken carcass break down into gelatin in the stock, which gives it that thick mouth feel. It sounds that by skipping the night before part you're actually skipping the flavor extraction part.

[grasswire]

8. I also think that skimming the chicken fat all off means less flavor.

Wouldn't you think so? Especially when they are going for low sodium.

[Retrograde]

9. I'd think so

I use the skin in my stocks, skim as their cooking, then strain, let the fat solidify so I can lift it off, then reheat - but you never get all the fat out and I think it does add flavor and body.

About salting - I've found that making the stock without any added salt, then adding a good pinch to the finished soup just before serving makes the taste of the salt stand out more - and I use less.

[Tesha]

12. agree..

I hardly ever use salt in cooking any longer, I find you get much more bang for the buck if you add it on top.

Just a pinch gives you that enhancement you need and every one gets to set their own level.

[tigereye]

13. ah, the problem with using mainly skinless, boneless chicken is revealed...

fair points...

[pengillian101]

11. I agree.

To get that good-flavored gel that gives the broth it's flavor - that comes from cooking the marrow out from the bones and there is also much flavor from leaving the skin on. Cook (edit to add) *a cut-up* chicken however you desire in water, spices, vegetables. (Regular stuff like salt, pepper, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, garlic and like that.)

Once chicken has almost fallen off the bones, strain the pot of everything (colander works well) into a large bowl or other container.

Pick over the colander remains and keep the chicken meat separate. Throw out the bones, spent vegies, etc.

Strain the liquid again through a sieve.

Cool broth, then skim the fat from the top. The bone marrow gel at the bottom makes it flavorful - don't throw that out!

Now you have a good chicken stock base.

That's how I do it anyway...and the chicken is saved separate. Endless possibilities.

[tigereye]

14. thanks...

we used to use miso as a base, because for years we didn't eat meat at all.

[eleny]

10. I second the garlic suggestion

And I wonder if a tiny bit of saffron might also give it a kick. Once I added one of those my chicken soups went up a nice notch in flavor and color, too.

I also find that adding diced parsnip changed it slightly for the better. But the garlic really helped since we avoid salt, too.

P.S. Fresh parsley makes a difference.

[yellerpup]

15. Your suggestion about parsnips caught my eye.

I just tried them recently for the first time and while they were good, I noticed that the next day the leftover sauce made with a mirepoix foundation tasted much better than it normally does without parsnips. I kind of think of them now as the anchovy of the vegetable world. :hi:

[eleny]

18. I found they added a subtle flavor but definitely made a change for the better

:hi:

Sorry for the delay in responding! I haven't been at DU as much as I used to. I started my Spring cleaning kind of early and am in high gear.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. The chicken is the problem ......

Skinless ..... that means far less flavor,

Also, was your chicken also boneless? If it was, that's a problem, too. The bones are a big part of the stock's make-up.

[EFerrari]

17. I tend to go more Italian with lentil soup -- garlic, basil, stewed tomatoes.

Sometimes I stick a little bit of bacon in there for flavor but take it out before serving. :shrug:

[deek]

19. cumin ? eom

.