Jody Adams' Chicken Stew

Serves

Two - three.

Ingredients

3 lb	whole chicken
8 c	chicken stock (or, 4 cans @ 13¾ oz each, low sodium chicken stock plus 1 c water)
3 c	water
3 medium	carrots, cut on an extreme diagonal
5 stalks	celery, strings removed and cut on an extreme diagonal
3 medium	leeks, white part only, cut on an extreme diagonal
	bouquet garni (1 bay leaf tied with a few stalks of parsley)
pinch	dried thyme
4 cloves	garlic, smashed
1 T	chopped fresh tarragon (or, 1 t dried tarragon)
½ c	tiny star pasta, or any other ⅛" shape
1 T	lemon juice, or to taste
	salt
	freshly-ground black pepper

Procedure

1. Remove the giblets from the chicken, rinse the cavity, and set in a soup kettle.

2. Add the stock (or stock and water), the 3 c water, and a generous pinch of salt; bring to a boil.

3. Skim thoroughly and lower the heat.

4. Add the carrots, celery, leeks, bouquet garni, thyme, and garlic; if you're using the dried tarragon, add it now.

5. Cover and poach for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

6. Remove the chicken and allow to cool.

7. Strain the stock into a large saucepan, reserving the vegetables; discard the bouquet garni and the garlic.

8. Bring the stock to a boil and reduce by two-thirds.

9. When the chicken is cool, discard the skin and bones and cut the meat into large pieces; return it to the reduced stock.

10. Cook the pasta; do not over-cook it! In fact, leave it just a bit under-done as it will cook a bit more in the stock.

11. Add the pasta the stock, along with the vegetables and lemon juice; if you're using fresh tarragon, add it now.

12. Taste and serve.

Notes

• This makes a rather thin stew.

• It needs more pasta; 1 c minimum, maybe even 1½ c.

• It's visually boring -- add something for color (peas?)

Rating

Difficulty: Easy.

Time: About three hours; it takes nearly an hour to reduce the stock.

Precision: 2.

Source

Jody Adams is the chef at Michela's in Cambridge, MA; this recipe was published in some magazines, probably in the Boston Globe.