Chicken soup with almonds
Description
A hearty first course. Place a whole chicken in a pot, pour 8-9 cups of cold water over it, bring to a boil, skim off the foam, add salt, then simmer covered over low heat until the meat starts to separate from the bones (1.5–2 hours). Meanwhile, rinse the rice and soak saffron in vinegar. Remove the chicken from the broth, take the meat off the bones and shred into pieces. Strain 6 cups of broth into a clean pot, bring to a boil, add the rice, cover, and cook until the rice becomes very soft—about 25 minutes. While the rice is cooking, pour boiling water over almonds and let stand for 5 minutes, then peel off the skins, dry, and chop. Melt butter in a skillet and sauté the almonds until pink, being careful not to burn them. Add the almonds to the pot with rice and simmer over the lowest heat for another 15 minutes. For the dressing, beat egg yolks with starch and lemon juice until smooth, add a couple of tablespoons of broth, mix, then slowly pour this mixture into the soup, stirring constantly. Add the saffron with its liquid, cook for 20 seconds, then remove from heat. Place the chicken meat into serving bowls, pour the soup over, garnish with pomegranate seeds, and serve hot.