(Creamed Chicken and Potato Soup with Avocado and Capers)

Classic Latin American Recipe

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

3- 3 1/2 lb. Chicken (cut into 6 to 8 serving pieces)
1 lb. Beef Shinbone (sawed into 2 inch pieces)
2 qts. Cold Water
1 lg. Onion (peeled)
1 Bay Leaf
1/8 tspn. Ground Cumin Seeds
1/8 tspn. Dried Thyme
1 tbls. Salt
1/8 tspn. White Pepper
4 Medium Boiling Potatoes (peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick)
5 ears Corn (cut into 2-inch rounds)
1 cup plus 2 tbls. Heavy Cream
2 tbls. Capers (drained and rinsed in cold water)
1 Avocado (peeled, pitted and thinly sliced)

Procedures:

1. In a heavy 5-quart casserole, combine the chicken, shinbone and water. The water should cover the chicken by about an inch; if necessary, add more water. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off the scum that rises to the surface. Add the onion, bay leaf, cumin, thyme, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Pick out and discard the shinbones and onion, strain the stock through a fine sieve and return it to the casserole. Remove the skin from the chicken with a small knife or your fingers. Cut or pull the meat away from the bones; discard the skin and bones. Cut the chicken meat into strips 1/4 inch wide and 1 to 1 1/2 inches long.

2. Return the stock in the casserole to a boil over moderate heat, and drop in the potatoes. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft, then mash them against the sides of the pan with a spoon until the soup is thick and fairly smooth. Add the corn and chicken, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the tenderness of the corn.

To Serve:
Pour 3 tablespoons of cream and 1 teaspoon of capers into each of 6 deep soup bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowls and float the sliced avocado on top.