and sauté until lightly brown on all sides. Then add chicken giblets and sauté until cooked through.
Transfer chicken and giblets to stockpot. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet. Add celery, onions, carrots, leek, and garlic-spice mixture to the stockpot, and stir well.
Pour 1 small ladle of chicken stock into the stockpot. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender.
Stir in remaining stock, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Using a slotted wooden spoon, remove chicken and set aside. Add rice and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
Once cool enough to touch, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, removing bones and skin.
Return chicken to soup, then stir in apples and yogurt. Simmer for 15 minutes, skimming fat off top of soup if necessary.
Stir in lemon juice, followed by the whipping cream. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Pour soup into a heated tureen, and garnish with parsley and sliced almonds.
Etiquette Lessons
When eating soup, it is proper to hold your soup spoon in your right hand while scooping the soup away from yourself. The spoon should never be placed directly into the mouth, rather the soup should be gently tipped from the side of the spoon and poured into the mouth through an opening in the lips.
The Earl of Grantham’s Green Turtle Soup
Due to the expense of importing the rare West Indian green turtle to England, serving turtle soup was a sign of great prestige. Thus, there’s no doubt that the Earl and Countess of Grantham would try to impress their guests by serving this Green Turtle Soup at important occasions, such as the Dowager Countess’s birthday or a feast in honor of an engagement.
YIELDS 6 SERVINGS
1 1 ⁄ 2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1 ⁄ 2 pounds turtle meat, diced
Kosher salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 medium white onions, diced
8 stalks celery, diced
10 cloves garlic, minced
3 red bell peppers, diced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, ground
1 tablespoon oregano, ground
2 quarts beef stock
1 ⁄ 2 cup dry sherry
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 ⁄ 3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 ⁄ 2 cup lemon juice
1 cup tomato purée
1 ⁄ 2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup fresh spinach, washed and roughly chopped
6 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped
In a large stockpot over medium to medium-high heat, melt 1 ⁄ 2 cup of the butter. Add turtle meat and brown. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes or until liquid is nearly dry.
Constantly stirring with a wooden spoon, add onions, celery, garlic, and bell peppers. Then add thyme and oregano, and sauté for around 20–25 minutes. Add beef stock, then bring soup to a boil. Let simmer for 25 minutes. Skim off any fat from the top.
As stock simmers, make the roux: In a small saucepan, melt remaining 1 cup butter over medium-low heat. Still stirring with a wooden spoon, slowly add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Do not burn. Cook roux until it is pale in color and has a sand-like consistency, about 3–5 minutes. Set aside and let cool until soup is ready — roux should definitely be cool when added to soup.
Using a whisk, vigorously whisk roux into stock, adding a little at a time to prevent lumping. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Add sherry and bring soup to boil. Add hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, then simmer for another 5 minutes. Skim off any fat or foam that comes to the top. Stir in lemon juice and tomato purée, then let simmer for another 5 minutes. Add green onions, spinach, and eggs, then allow to simmer for an additional 10 minutes and adjust seasoning to taste.
Times Gone By
in the mid to late 1700s, confectioner Samuel Birch was the first to serve turtle soup in London, serving it with lemons, cayenne, and other condiments, with French bread on the side. Turtle soup later became so esteemed — yet so expensive to serve — that dishes such as
Douglas E. Schoen, Melik Kaylan