Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Serves 6
- 1 large whole chicken (or 2 large poussins / Cornish hens)
- 4 carrots
- 2 small stalks celery
- 2 small potatoes (optional)
- 1 package nikitouche (tiny round pasta beads; substitute acini di pepe)
- a generous pinch of turmeric (for the color)
- Salt, pepper
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, brown the chicken on all sides. I usually don’t add any oil, since the chicken will release its own fat. If you prefer, you can add 1 Tbsp neutral oil. Once the chicken is browned, remove it, then add the vegetables cut into chunks. Sear the vegetables, then return the chicken to the pot and add enough water to cover it well. Add 1 level Tbsp coarse salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 35 minutes (if you went with a stewing hen, the cooking time will be longer).
When the broth is ready, remove the chicken and set it on a platter to cut it into pieces.
Half an hour before serving, bring the broth back to a boil, cook the nikitouche for about 20 minutes, and add the pinch of turmeric.
Nikitouche is usually served with a Minina, Tunisian chicken and egg frittata cut into slices, and you can also serve it with couscous on the side if you like.
Tips
To get a flavorful chicken broth without using chicken bouillon powder, it’s important not to skip the step of browning the chicken and then the vegetables, and to scrape up the browned bits well before adding the water. Our grandmothers didn’t have bouillon powder and their broth was delicious. I tend to stay a purist (that’s just me) because I find the powders very salty and they mask the “real” taste.
The most flavorful broths come from a stewing hen or a poussin (easier to find, and to my taste the most delicious!). Whatever you choose, you need bones, that’s what gives the flavor, so if you don’t have a whole chicken, go for bony cuts like wings, thighs and drumsticks…