15 December 2010

Patton’s Rock Soup

(General George Patton, in a protrait commissioned by the General)

Gentle Readers,

If you told me that in the midst of a fevered treatise about the New Caliphate, featuring intense discussions between regional experts and Turkish journalists about regional strategies to contain terror, rebuild and stabilize Iraq and contain Iran, I would be diverted to the subject of chicken soup, you could have knocked me over with a feather.

We will be back to Turkey tomorrow, I assure you. There are some important things to talk about. In the meantime, I have to be in distant Maryland this morning, and with the bitter cold out there, I want something comforting and ready to heat and devour when I get back.
 
Lieutenant General George Patton was an inspiration. He was an innovative leader, and often referred to the "rock soup method" of acquiring resources for hasty attacks on the Germans in the face of official disapproval by his superiors for offensive operations. In the military context, he sent units forward, ostensibly on “reconnaissance” missions, and later reinforced them when contact was made with the enemy. In this manner, small scale probes developed into all-out attacks in “self defense.”
 
Notable examples of this strategy (which infuriated uber-organized British Field Marshall Montgomery, among others) occurred on the road to Palermo during the Sicilian campaign, and before Metz in Belgium, when his 3rd Army was officially frozen in place during Montgomery's strategic disaster in Operation MARKET GARDEN. Patton chafed to move forward. Politically, Ike could not let him. Patton made rock soup.
 
I do not intend to get frozen anywhere today. You know the older story to which he referred. The tramp promises a village that he can make a nutritious meal out of water and a simple round stone- Patton’s rock. All he needs are some minor garnish, just for taste. You know, just a little cabbage, potatoes, onions, sausage, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic and peppers.

This severe chill has had me thinking of soups all week.

Monday, the chill was so fierce that we could not walk far for lunch, and had a large bowl of P.F. Chang’s version of Egg Drop Soup, one that features those clear Asian noodles, chicken and lots of herbs.

Accordingly, I did some investigation for my own chicken soup recipe and stumbled across these two. I like the idea that anarchy is good in this department, with the only stipulation that there be chicken, veggies and some broth. Artichoke broth is my personal favorite, and of course you can cut it with chicken or vegetable broth or both.

I am also experimenting with the Asian no-cal, no-carb Shirtaki noodles in a variety of methods, and will let you know if it works. Seems too good to be true, and of course that normally means it is.

Chicken soup is also therapeutic, since wintertime seems to bring every kind of bug and germ into Big Pink, and then our offices. For you, a warming bowl of chicken soup can help minister to the little ones with stuffy noses. I can live with canned soup, of course, and have a couple dozen cans in the larder for the post-attack reserve or to accommodate the odd blizzard, but these recipes are just soooo easy it is criminal not to do them instead.

The first variation is traditional with an Asian flair, as you would expect from the collision of Old Blood and Guts and celebrity Australian chef Curtis Stone, who provided additional inspiration. The second one also has a quotation from the mysterious East with simmered fresh ginger slices. Ginger has lots of curative properties and lends a pleasant heat. Note that this soup is also good on chilly and virus free days.

The basic recipes serve four, which is good enough for Big Pink, but just double ingredients to accommodate a crowd. Chicken today. Back to Turkey, and an exploration of a rational regional Middle East strategy tomorrow.

Patton-Stone Soup

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, medium dice
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 leek (white and pale green parts only)
• 3 carrots, peeled
• 2 celery stalks
• large fresh thyme sprig
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 cups chicken stock or chicken broth (Artichoke broth?)
• 1 cup dried wide egg noodles
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 2 large eggs
• Dash or dollop of Sriracha-brand HOT chili sauce
  

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Cut the leek, carrots, and celery into a medium dice. Add the leek, carrots, celery, and thyme to the onions and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and sauté until the vegetables soften, about 3 minutes.
Add the chicken stock (think of artichoke broth if you have some) and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for five minutes.

Add the chicken and simmer very gently until the chicken is just cooked through, about 7 minutes.
Remove the thyme stem. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh parsley.
Beat the eggs in a small bowl to blend. This is the unique part: while slowly stirring the soup in a circular motion, drizzle the blended egg mixture into the soup. Cook just until the cooked egg forms streaks throughout the savory broth.

Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls. If you have not eschewed carbs, think about a fresh baguette slathered with fresh salted creamery butter for dipping in the broth. Serve and enjoy.

Patton-Style Chicken Soup with Ginger

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 cup medium wide egg noodles
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 2 (¼ inch thick) slices fresh ginger
• 2 carrots, cut into ½ inch thick coins
• 2 parsnips, cut into ½ inch thick coins
• 2 celery ribs, cut into ½ inch thick slices
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, very thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley or dill (optional)
• Dash or dollop of Sriracha-brand HOT chili sauce