Nat's Whole Chicken Soup

With a whole Bellair chicken, this soup is not skimpy on meat and has a nice layer of pastured chicken schmatlz (fat) on top — we call that fat liquid gold. Served with ‘drop’ yogurt biscuits — scroll down for that easy recipe.

Big pots of stew and soup are Nat’s specialty, and this chicken soup recipe is nourishing, especially in these cold months

Start by warming butter & olive oil in your pot and add a spoonful of curry paste or spices (he used Tandoori). This was his secret ingredient -- the flavor was not overpowering in the finished soup, but was a nice, warm & spicy note in the background.

Then add cubed potatoes, carrots, & chopped onions are any other veggies you desire — Nat added some sun-dried tomatoes left over from last summer. Fill with water and/or chicken stock. Add a bay leaf or two. Then add your whole chicken (chicken quarters work, too) directly to the pot and cook at a low simmer for about 2-3 hours (less if you break your chicken down first)

Once the chicken is cooked through, you can remove it and allow to cool just enough to pull the meat off the bones with a fork and/or your hands (photo below left). Save (freeze) your bones to make bone broth later. 

Add your pulled chicken back to the pot and it's ready to serve (photo below right). Salt to taste.

Modify as you like, and add toppings like sprouts, etc. Amanda likes to make a small batch of quick yogurt biscuits based on Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday recipe.

Yogurt Drop Biscuits (makes 6)
1-1/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 c butter, cold, cubed (I use salted and it’s fine)
2/3 c yogurt

Pre-heat oven to 450. Mix dry ingredients well. Add cold butter cubes and work into the dry mix by hand or with a food processor until it has the texture of damp sand. Add yogurt and knead into a dough that sticks together. Pinch dough into 6 equal pieces and place on a baking sheet like ‘drop’ biscuits. You can lightly shape them if you want. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until golden. We LOVE these at our house. They are perfectly fluffy and delicious when just baked, but don’t hold up as well the next day, which is why I simplified Heidi’s recipe (she uses a blend of spelt & whole wheat flour) and made a smaller batch.