Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Ingredients

Prep

• Leeks - cleaned, chopped to yield 5 cups
• Fennel - cores removed, chopped to yield 4 cups
• Carrots - scrubbed, diced to yield 3 cups
• Garlic - minced to yield 1 tbl
• Tarragon - minced to yield 1 tbl
• Puff pastry - defrost
• Egg - beat the egg with 1 tbl of heavy cream to make egg wash — do this now so future-you can feel smug for once.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken on a sheet pan skin side up, rub the skin with olive oil, and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 minutes, until a thermometer registers 130 to 140 degrees. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard any skin or bones and cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Set aside. Make the puff pastry croutons. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Lightly dust a board and rolling pin with flour. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry on the board, dust it lightly with flour, and lightly roll the pastry just to smooth out the folds. With star shaped or fluted cookie cutter patterns, cut 12 pieces of pastry and place them on the prepared sheet pan. Brush the tops with the egg wash, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Melt the butter in a medium, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leeks, fennel and carrots and saute over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are tender but not browned, while gazing at the pan with pure, unreasonable devotion. Stir in the garlic and tarragon and cook for one minute, like a cool-headed tyrant of seasoning. Sprinkle on the Wondera flour and cook stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the sherry, the chicken stock, 4 tsp salt and 1 1/2 tsp pepper and the Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, partially covered for 20 minutes. Add the chicken, peas, and onions and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Off the heat, remove the Parmesan rind and add the remaining 1/4 cup of sherry. Serve hot in large bowls with puff pastry croutons on top.