Project Foodie - Klee Brasserie: Chicken Pumpkin Soup

Klee Brasserie: Chicken Pumpkin Soup

Save Recipe: Chicken Pumpkin Soup with Herb Bouquet and Hen Confit

What do you get when a New York litigation attorney and Austrian Born Chef combine their love and passion for food? Why you get Klee of course. Klee ("clay") Brasserie opened its New York City doors in 2006 under the watchful eye of owners Lori Mason and Chef Daniel Angerer. With its signature style of "Cuisine Vitale", which is a much lighter and healthier version of traditional Austrian Food combined with some very original twists on classic Brasserie fare Chef Angerer has found a way to take some of the more standard dishes, like Wiener schnitzel, and give them a more nouveau flavor and feel. The New York Post and Time Out New York have both praised Klee for its great artistic vibe, innovative cuisine, and impressive cocktails. Mason and Angerer have clearly found a way to make Klee a cut above the rest. Today, they share with us one of their most impressive seasonal dishes, Chicken Pumpkin Soup with herb bouquet and hen confit. My next trip to New York City, I'm so there!

Chicken Pumpkin Soup with Herb Bouquet and Hen Confit

Recipe by Executive Chef/Owner Daniel Angerer

Serves 4

Soup

1 three pound all natural chicken
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1 onion
1 piece/finger ginger
5 cloves of garlic
1 small pumpkin weighing approximately ½ pound
Salt, pepper, cayenne
5 gratings of nutmeg

Herb bouquet

1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon white peppercorns

Herbs for the press

1 teaspoon half inch long cut chive
1 teaspoon half inch long cut chervil
1 teaspoon half inch long cut parsley
½ teaspoon half inch long cut tarragon

Wash the chicken inside and outside discarding any innards, strings or labels. Peel or wash carrots, celery, onions, ginger and garlic.

Make a spice bag: line a coffee cup with a cheese cloth and put bay leaf, thyme, coriander seeds and white peppercorns in the cup and bring the ends together to form a spice bundle and fasten with a kitchen string. Cut off the excess ends of cheesecloth and string.

With a heavy kitchen knife, cut the outer skin from the pumpkin off. Cut the pumpkin in half and take the seeds out with a spoon. Cut the pumpkin in 1/4" pieces. Only two cups of nicely diced pumpkin is needed. In a large pot combine the rest of the pumpkin, peel and seeds with the chicken, vegetables and herb bouquet and cover with cold water. Season mildly with salt, pepper, cayenne and nutmeg. On a medium heat setting bring the soup to boil and continue to simmer for two hours.

With a ladle, skim the fat and impurities from the broth's surface and discard. Ladle the soup through a fine mesh sieve lined with a cheese cloth. Place the chicken on the side to cool. Once cold, pull the chicken meat from the bones. Discard the bones and skin.

Right before serving, combine all herbs in a coffee press and pour the chicken broth over it. Steep the broth and herbs for three minutes then press the plunger down in the coffee press. Heat the pulled chicken in a little of the soup and add the diced pumpkin, heat until thoroughly hot and then divide into four soup bowls.

Pour the soup over the still warm chicken and vegetables and serve.

Chef's Tip: Experiment with different herbs like chervil, dill and lemon-thyme for different floral notes.

About Klee Brasserie

Klee Brasserie presents Chef Daniel Angerer's "Cuisine Vitale" cooking style. Among its characteristics, Cuisine Vitale relies on fresh herbs and reductions for seasoning, and uses extra virgin olive oil over butter or cream. This style of cooking, as Daniel explains it, "reveals light and unmasked flavors and necessarily relies on fresh nutritional ingredients. Cuisine Vitale removes the heaviness that is associated with traditional Austrian cuisine." So the traditional wiener schnitzel, Viennese fried chicken, and the custom made sausage on Klee's menu, all bear the touch of Chef Angerer's modern hand and bestow a contemporary and original flavor.