A visit to my local farmer’s market in west London is my favourite start to the weekend. For what seems like an endless season, the vegetable stall offers huge heads of fresh garlic: pale green with long stems and a strong aroma. The French girl, who forever charms, also sells parsley, both curly (rare these days) and flat-leaf, as well as other noteworthy vegetables and fruit. Four heads of garlic and a huge parsley bunch cost me £4. I then take two steps to the adjacent chicken and egg purveyor, pick up three or four chicken carcasses and some giblets, and spend even less. A broth of these simple ingredients is already simmering in my happy head.
Enough for several servings
chicken carcasses 3-4 (or 8 wings), roughly chopped (if you have some giblets, add these, too)
garlic 2 heads of fresh or purple-skinned Provence, cut in half horizontally
parsley 1 large bunch, leaves picked, stalks roughly chopped
salt 2 tsp
bay leaves 2
lemon zest 3-4 strips
chilli flakes ½ tsp
white wine 2 glasses
water 2 litres, or enough to cover the ingredients by about 5cm
olive oil 3 tbsp
Put the carcasses (or wings) in a large pot that has a lid and add the garlic, parsley stalks, salt, bay leaves, lemon zest, chilli flakes, white wine and water. Bring up to a simmer and skim off any scum from the surface. Allow to blip and murmur over a very low heat, covered, for about an hour and a half; you can also do this in a low oven. After about 40 minutes of cooking, carefully lift out the garlic on to a plate using a slotted spoon, and cool. Continue to simmer the broth for the remaining time.
Remove the lid and strain the broth using a colander into a large bowl, discarding the solids. Allow the broth to settle for about 10 minutes, then remove any surface fat using 3-4 sheets of kitchen paper. Now strain the broth again through a fine sieve back into the (wiped clean) original pan.
Take the cooled heads of garlic and ease out the soft cloves from their sodden skins. Tip these into a small food processor, add the olive oil, parsley leaves and a spoonful or two of the broth. Process until smooth. Return to the broth, stir and reheat without boiling, then decant into a warmed soup bowl.
Serve with some large baked sourdough croutons, which will soften and swell in the broth while retaining a pleasing texture until the final spoonful. This recipe makes more than one serving; there isn’t much point in making a smaller quantity. But I can live on this for days – it keeps well in the fridge for at least five days.
