Almond chicken soup


It is my belief that a good bowl of soup can fix almost, almost anything. It does not even need to be a hot soup in the middle of a flu or in a cold night after a horrible day. Even in summer, I love a cold soup, or a liquid custard for dessert.

I guess my love for soup will be an advantage when I become a venerable old lady with no teeth. Until then, I love soups in all their forms and I never get tired of making soups and custards. The secret, in all cases, is a good stock as base, either beef, chicken or vegetables. I usually prepare my own stock in quantity and freeze to go using it as required. But now you can find a full range of quite good quality commercial stock types so you can prepare soup in a moment. Another advantage of  this recipe is that everything is cooked in the same pot, so if you have the stock ready,  in just 15 minutes you'll have your soup on the table, and cleaning the kitchen will not take longer than that.


Almond Chicken Soup

1/2 onion
50 grams of raw almonds, chopped or powdered
1 clove of garlic
Fresh parsley leaves
400 grams chicken breast into cubes
1 liter of chicken broth
A few sprigs of thyme or herbs to taste
Oil

Preparation

In a heavy bottomed pan, put a few drops of oil and sautée the onion over medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of water to finish cooking onion, until it is transparent. While onion is cooking (it takes about 5-7 minutes), mash in a mortar the almonds with diced garlic and parsley until you have a paste. If necessary, you can add a tablespoon of the broth to bind it.
Once the onion is cooked,  add the crushed mortar and fry lightly. Add chicken cut in dices of similar size and fry lightly. Do not worry: cook just the outside, the inside will cook later. Add broth and thyme sprig or herbs to taste. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.