Sancocho De Gallina (Chicken Soup)

http://www.fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=222688

Yield 1.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 qt chicken stock

1 x yucca, peeled and cut into 1"x1"x1" pieces

2 x plaintains, peeled, halved, and sliced into thirds longitudinally

2 x red potatoes, peeling optional, cut into chunks

3 whl chicken breast, skinned and quartered with bones left on.

juice from two lemons

cumin, 1 tsp

scallions, 1 bunch

cilantro, 1 bunch

2 tbl all-purpose flour

2 tsp butter

salt and pepper

Method:

• Make a roux: Combine flour and butter and microwaved for 30 seconds into a yellowish sludge.
• In one cup of chicken stock, simmer scallions, cilantro, and cumin for a few minutes. Set it aside till cool, then process it into a smooth, green-colored flavoring element to be added to the final soup. In the remaining 1 and 1/4 quarts of chicken stock, simmer the quartered, skinned chicken breasts. Particulate scum which floats off the chicken breasts as they start to cook may be skimmed off with a ladle, and discarded. The chicken will take about an hour to cook. As the chicken starts to simmer, add cut-up, peeled yucca, and cut-up potatoes.
• You may continue to skim off scum after the yucca and potatoes are in the soup. About a half hour from completion time, add cut-up plaintains. Plaintains are more delicate, and require less cooking time that other elements of the soup. 10 minutes before completion time, add the processed scallions-cilantro-cumin, and the juice from 2 lemons. Add roux to "bind" the soup, stirring to mix it well. Make sure the potatoes and yucca are cooked to softness, and examine a piece of chicken to check for doneness. If overcooked, the yucca, potato, and plaintain disintegrate, but their rich flavors remain. Add salt and pepper to taste.