At a glance
This elegant spring soup brings together a rich, slow-simmered chicken stock with a homemade egg roulade and buttered spring vegetables – a true comfort dish that rewards patience. The most time-consuming part is the long simmering of the hen (plan for several hours), but the egg roulade and vegetable preparation are straightforward and happen while the stock cooks. The result is a deeply flavorful, restaurant-quality soup that feels special enough for Easter entertaining.
1/10
Chicken stock
Into a large pot, put a whole hen cut into pieces (if using chicken, just use chicken parts – usually backs, hearts, liver, carcasses).
For this step
0/12/10
Vegetables for the stock
For one hen I use carrot, parsley root, a piece of celery stalk, a large onion, and a bit of greens – parsley or lovage. I never peel the vegetables, just scrub them under water with a rough scouring pad. I cut the onion in half, skin and all.
For this step
0/53/10
Spices
Add all of this to the hen in the pot. Add allspice berries (about 5), black peppercorns (about 10), 2 bay leaves, 3 juniper berries and salt.
For this step
0/5