Named after my son, this soup is best made with a Chinese-style chicken stock (see below). I came up with this dish during the fog of early fatherhood. It made guests happy while I was still discovering who I was as a chef.
Ingredients
- 4 oz. dried white navy or cannellini beans soaked in water for 24hours
- 10 slices smoked bacon
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 large yellow onion
- 5 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 stems fresh thyme
- 1 gallon chicken stock
- 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
- 1/4 lb. butter
- 1 T olive oil
- salt and pepper
Chinese-style Chicken Stock
- 1 chicken 5 lb., cut into parts
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 1 carrot
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 2-inch piece gingerroot thinly sliced
- 1/2 T Szechuan peppercorns
- 3 pieces star anise
- Enough water to cover ingredients in stockpot
Instructions
For the stock
- Pre-heat oven to 400F.
- Wash all chicken parts and dry with paper towel. Place chicken parts on pan. Bake in oven until skin turns golden brown.
- Put cooked chicken into stock pot with all other ingredients, add water until all are submerged. Bring to a boil, then drop to a simmer for 4 hours, skimming scum off surface until stock has reached desired concentration.
For the soup
- Preheat oven to 300F.
- Bake bacon in oven until crispy; pour off and reserve the fat and finely chop the bacon.
- Sauté onion, garlic, celery in the bacon fat, butter and olive oil in a large pot until translucent.
- Add the chopped bacon and all other ingredients and simmer for 2 hours. Allow to cool, then purée in blender (use extreme caution as hot liquids in blender can cause injury). Rewarm on the stove just prior to service and adjust to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pair with pinot noir.
This recipe is published as part of our Regional Tasting Report on US Pinot Noir.
Chris Czarnecki is the chef and owner of The Joel Palmer House Restaurant in Dayton, OR.
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