This satisfying soup is all about texture – a smooth, satiny feel on the palate. Now I’ll be honest, there are a lot of steps to this dish, so I would recommend making this when you have some extra time – but trust me, it’s well worth it.  I find it’s a nice change of pace and very satisfying to take my time and prepare a well-made dish.  A few items to note about this recipe:

• it’s a good idea to read through this entire recipe before starting
• consider adding noodles or dumplings to this soup
• a parchment lid is just as it sounds – an easy to make “lid” for your stockpot constructed out of parchment paper.  Be sure to cut a small steam hole in the center and put the paper lid  in the pot so that it rests gently on the food you’re cooking.  It’s a great way to prevent the surface of your food from becoming caramelized as it cooks.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1 cup coarsely chopped celery
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 1 cup coarsely chopped leeks
• kosher salt

separately:

• 4 quarts chicken stock
• 5 stalks celery
• 3 large carrots
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed, skin left on
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup Roux (see here)
• 2 – 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (dark and/or white meat)
• 1/4 cup minced chives
• 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar (white wine vinegar can be used as a substitute)
• flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions

Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the first set of ingredients – the carrots, celery, onions and leeks – season with salt, and cover with a parchment lid.  Reduce the heat to low and cook very slowly, stirring occasionally, 30 to 35 minutes – until the vegetables are tender.  Remove and discard the parchment lid.

Add the chicken stock to the vegetables and bring to a simmer.  Continue to simmer for about 30 minutes, then strain the soup base into another pot and discard the vegetables.

Now, for the second set of ingredients.  Peel the celery stalks with a peeler.  Cut each stalk crosswise on the diagonal into thin slices.  As you get to the wider part of the stalk, adjust the angle of your knife to keep the pieces relatively the same size.  You need about 1 1/2 cups of celery for this recipe.  Cook the celery in a large pot of boiling, salted water until just tender – a few minutes.  Drain, cool in an ice bath, and drain again.

Cut the carrots lengthwise into quarters and then crosswise into bite-sized pieces. As each carrot widens, adjust the size of the cut to keep the pieces the same size (similar to the celery).  You need about 1 1/2 cups of carrots for this recipe.

Put the carrots into a saucepan – add the honey, bay leaf, thyme, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cover with cold water.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the carrots are tender but slightly resistant to the tooth. Drain and transfer to paper towels.

Bring the soup base to a simmer and whisk in the roux a little at a time, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon – you might not need all of the roux. Simmer for 30 minutes, skimming often – this is necessary to remove all impurities from the roux.  The soup will continue to thicken as it simmers.

Add the chicken, carrots, celery and chives to the soup and heat through.  Season with the vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer to a large serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley leaves.

the pieces of chicken and vegetables should all be about the same size

adapted from a recipe found here