Simply Made Chicken Soup with Comté Croutons From Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms

Simply Made Chicken Soup with Comte Cheese Crouton

Serves 8

Soup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced

2 cups tomatoes, diced small, rinsed to remove seeds
2 whole bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, removed from sprigs
Kosher or sea salt and ground black pepper, to season

12 cups chicken stock, purchased or homemade

1. Warm butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Stir in the onions and garlic until tender (2 minutes).

2. Add the tomatoes, thyme and bay leaf. Cook, stirring, for another minute or so.

3. Stir in the stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until warmed through (10 minutes or less).

Croutons
8 slices French Baguette, cut 1-inch thick on an angle, then oven toasted
12+ ounces Comte Cheese, roughly grated or thinly sliced

1. Just before serving, top toasted bread slices with cheese. Return to oven to melt slightly.

Serve
4 cups Rotisserie Chicken, roughly shredded, loosely packed
1 cup flat leaf parsley, very roughly chopped, loosely packed

1. Place one crouton into the bottom of each shallow soup bowl. Gently ladle soup around bread. Garnish with a portion of chicken and parsley onto crouton.

Romesco Sauce Base

1 medium ancho chile, stem and seeds removed
½ cup peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
One ½-inch thick slice white country-style bread, cut into 3 pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded
½ cup raw almonds or hazelnuts, lightly toasted
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika; more as needed
½ teaspoon hot Pimenton dulce or cayenne; more as needed
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Kosher salt

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
2 ½ teaspoons white balsamic vinegar

1. Put ancho chile in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak about 10 minutes, drain and set aside.

2. Warm a small sauté pan over medium heat and add ¼ cup olive oil. When oil is hot enough, bread will sizzle on contact. Add bread and reduce heat to medium low Fry bread on both sides until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towel.

3. Put diced tomatoes in a small baking dish, drizzle with a little oil and place under broiler until slightly charred, about 3 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

4. In work bowl of food processor, put ancho chile, tomatoes, fried bread, red pepper, nuts and garlic. Grind to a chunky paste, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.

5. Add sweet and hot paprika, both vinegars and ¼ cup olive oil from sauté pan. Season with salt. Process again and taste. Should be sweet, nutty and bright with acidity. Place in storage container and allow to sit for 20 minutes for flavors to blend.

6. Put ½ cup Romesco Sauce Base, ¼ cup olive oil and 1½ teaspoons white balsamic vinegar in a mini processor. Process until smooth and spoonable. Place in a small bowl and add additional salt, vinegar or spice to taste. Set aside.