norfolkian: (Rey Last Jedi)
norfolkian ([personal profile] norfolkian) wrote in [community profile] cookbook_challenge2021-01-10 09:32 am
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Brodu Tat-Tigiega (Maltese Chicken Soup)

I'm half-Maltese and do a fair a bit of Maltese cooking. Last year I came across a Maltese cooking blog and bookmarked a load of recipes to try. One recipe I came across is for a soup my mum used to make all the time - my mum even showed me how to make it once, but I never got round to making it (I was a student at the time and not much of a cook) and then I kind of forgot about it. I'd never seen a recipe on any blogs or in any of my Maltese cookbooks for this particular soup, so I had wondered if it was a recipe unique to my family, but then I found a recipe for it on this blog and realised that it was almost the exact some recipe that my mum used to make!

Recipe here

I made a number of alterations, partly according to my memories of the version my mum used to make. I used 4 chicken drumsticks instead of a whole chicken and I browned them in the pan first, before adding them back in with the water/stock. I used more garlic (4 cloves instead of 1). And I left out the potato and the egg, as I don't remember my mum ever adding these to her soup.

It doesn't look pretty, but it is hearty and it tastes good.

A bowl of soup

My mum's rule of thumb is that you can use any meat on the bone - you could even use leftover chicken from a roast dinner. I used orzo pasta as that's what I had in the cupboard, but any small soup pasta will do or you can use some rice. I also think the stock cubes are optional, as the meat and bones will add flavour to the soup, especially if you cook it for a long time.