Soup for a Lousy Day

Yesterday was rainy and chilly and not at all the beautiful May day that I hoped it would be. On top of that, I wasn't and I'm not feeling well with a slight head/chest cold that is dragging me down. Ann wasn't at the top of her game either. I decided to come home early from work and make us a pot of soup. While I was in the cooler scrounging carrots and celery, I noticed that we have duck eggs coming out of our ears now, so I grabbed a bunch to take home. On the way home, I picked up some chicken thighs.

Chicken Soup/Stracciatella

I couldn't decide between plain old chicken soup and stracciatella, so I made a hybrid. After I made the stock by poaching the chicken with the ends of the onion, carrots, and celery, I strained it and set the chicken aside to cool, discarding the vegetables. The stock back on the flame, I added diced carrot, celery, and onion to the stock and seasoned it, letting the vegetables cook until tender, about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, I picked the chicken and returned it to the pot. Once the vegetables were tender, I brought the stock to a rapid boil and whisked in well-beaten duck eggs with a fork.

And there you have it: hybrid chicken soup and stracciatella. Stracciatella typically contains grated cheese and often green herbs, but not when I'm feeling sick.