Pre-Spring ‘22 | Spring Herb Broth
Season:
Pre Spring
Yarra Valley (Mid-July & August)
Element:
Wood
Wurundjeri:
Guling, Orchid Season
Support:
Liver and gall bladder
Insight and wisdom | discernment and judgement
Recipe:
Sally Coyle – Yarra Valley
Broths make the best spring soups - they’re light enough to remind us that warmer, brighter days are coming, yet warming enough now to chase off chilly days. The warming notes of star anise and cassia bark make this broth deceptively satisfying.
Add or omit what you fancy and play with this recipe a little like bringing the canvas to life in the art of painting. Use it as a base that allows your creativity to roam free.
“I’ve been adding a bit of chili and lemongrass - it’s hard to know where to stop!” - Sally Coyle
Ingredients
1 whole star anise
1 piece of cassia bark (available from Asian supermarkets)
4 whole green or black cardamom pods
1 litre of stock - chicken or vegetable
A clove of confit garlic
Thumbnail size of ginger, sliced
Bay leaf
Rice stick noodles (cooked as per instructions)
Serves 4
Add your favourite spring vegetables:
a bunch of spring baby carrots -or 1 carrot finely diced or sliced
1 small leek or spring onion, sliced into thin rounds
1 small bulb of fennel and fronds - very finely shredded
a handful of fresh peas
a handful of sugar snap peas
Add handfuls or a pinch of spring herbs:
dill
lemon myrtle
flat leaf parsley
mint
zest and juice of a lemon
sliced chilli (optional)
Optional:
poached chicken breast, shredded
or flakes of smoked trout dropped in at the end
a few drops of Tamari sauce
or pimp it up with some of the coriander pesto from the deep winter vegetable cous cous recipe
Preparation
Place the star anise, cassia bark, cardamon pods, the bulb of confit garlic, ginger and bay leaf and stock in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for abut 15 minutes.. If including chicken in this soup, you can add the breast and let it gently poach for about 15 minutes by placing a lid on the saucepan and turning off the heat. The chicken will poach beautifully in the warm stock.
Strain the stock. This can be done in advance and kept cool in the fridge for later or the next day.
When ready to serve, remove the chicken if using and shred or slice thinly.
Taste the stock to check for seasoning (salt, pepper, chilli if desired), add all the spring vegetables- leeks, baby carrots, fennel, peas and bring the stock up to a simmer for 7 to 10 minutes. Add the noodles and chicken or smoked trout and herbs.
The vegetables should be vibrant enough but still crisp and the noodles cooked through. Top with fresh herbs and lemon zest, with a final squeeze of lemon juice.
Kitchen Table Wisdom
The kitchen table has always been a place where seasonality, ancestral skills, lifestyle elixirs, and lore meet; simple and sustaining, routine and extraordinary.
From the kitchen tables of London haute cuisine to Yarra Valley paddock-to-plate, international flavour enthusiast Sally Coyle designs a collection of Botanica Editions menus to help us sync with the soulful rhythms of the seasons. The perfect antidote to the hustle of contemporary life.
Dive into the full Pre-Spring ’22 menu of cleansing and energising, make-at-home dishes created by Sally exclusively for the Botanica Editions community.