Sopa de Pollo

Yesterday I got up at 6 and tossed three chicken carcasses in a pot and browned them. In Spain they will happily sell you the aforementioned chicken parts and bones left over from the girls hacking off the more desireable pieces. I don't know where this stuff goes in the States but in my house it goes into the pot at least once a week. Look I'll put a scrawny drawn and quartered Spanish chicken skeleton up against one of those sad, fat 6 legged hormone injected monsters they call a chicken back in my home country any day. These Spanish birds are the Antonio Banderas of poultry. Short, tough, wirey and ruggedly handsome; hombre they'll clean you clock for breakfast. So here you go: Sopa de Pollo de Abuela (Grandma's Chicken Soup).

Fry until sort of golden 2 or 3 fresh chicken carcasses in olive oil in a pot. After it all looks pretty cooked cover the carcasses with water. Bring to a boil. then simmer for like 4 hours. Yep. 4 hours. Take the carcasses out of the pot and set aside until cool. Strain the broth though a wire collander. Let it cool for a bit and then put in the fridge until the fat has congeeled on top of the broth. Scrape off the fat and save it as a sexual lubricant... no save it for cooking... potatoes fried in this stuff, shmaltz as our Jewish friends call it, are astounding. Oh about those carcasses, sometime I pick off nice bits of chicken meat and toss them back into the soup. But to tell the truth after 4 hours you might as well use soggy cardboard, all the flavor is in the pot.

OK a little more olive oil in the pot or some of the schmaltz and fry some chopped up vegetables; carrots, turnips, celery, green beans, think like your Grandma, a head of garlic or 6... I added some chopped up tomatoes and yow! off to Italy we go! Now pour back in the broth and lot of salt and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Zoe and I like noodles in our soup thank you very much so I toss in a couple of those egg noodle birds nests thingies about 10 minutes before it's time to eat. And time to it is!