Recipe for Italian Style Soup

(Mehrdad’s version)

Italian soups are very tasty, light and appetizing. A big advantage about them is that you can substitute all main ingredients with other things. For example, instead of chicken you can easily use any red meat or fish. And instead of carrots you can use peas, celery, or almost any other types of vegetables. Here is a simple carrot soup recipe:

Carrot Soup (serving 4 people)

Ingredients:

4 spoonfuls of cooking oil (preferably olive oil)
Half a kilo of carrots (skinned and cut into 1cm pieces)
2 spoonful of finely chopped fresh tarragon 
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 average size onion, chopped
2 pieces of fresh hot green pepper - or one piece of dried hot green pepper - (finely chopped)
About half kilo of chicken; It does not have to be the whole chicken but only bits and pieces such as the backbone, wings or the thighs. 
1 spoonful of finely chopped parsley
1 average size glass of milk
½ teaspoonful of black pepper
½ teaspoonful of salt

Instructions:

• On a moderate heat fry the onion in the oil until light brown (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly.
• Add the garlic, pepper and the tarragon and fry for another 2 minutes. Again, stir frequently.
• Add the chicken, carrots, pepper and salt to the saucepan and cook for about half an hour or until the carrots are well cooked.
• Discard the carrots and chicken by passing the juice through a colander.
• Return the juice to the saucepan and add the milk and heat until the soup begins to boil; remove the saucepan from stove and pour the soup into a bowl. The soup is ready to be served. Make sure all dishes are pre-heated. Sprinkle the parsley over the soup for each dish before serving.

Options:

• Use red meat or fish instead of chicken
• For extra taste fry the chicken or meat for a few minutes before adding it to the saucepan.
• You can also mildly fry vegetables such as celery before adding it to the soup
• Instead of one vegetable use a mixture of vegetables
• The use of milk is optional; don’t use it if you don’t want to.
• There is a cheese called Parmesan (Kaleh Dairy Co.) which is a little expensive but you can get some and grind it very finely and add it to the soup just before serving. One teaspoonful for each serving.
• Instead of tarragon you can use other aromatic herbs such as oregano or bay leaves (dry or fresh)
• Instead of vegetables you can use lentils, cheek peas, etc. In this case, soak the lentils for a few hours and then fry them mildly before adding them to the soup.
• Use only moderate heat for cooking