Canja de Galinha

Canja is my favorite soup in the whole entire world! I know that sounds childlike, but that's exactly how I feel when I eat this beautiful rice and chicken soup. It just takes me back to being a little girl, sitting at my grandfather's kitchen table, eating a bowl of my grandmother's canja and drinking a bottle of  fizzy orange pirolito. When ever we arrived here on the island for our holiday's, canja was one of the many dishes, that was part of the big family lunch at my maternal grandparent's home. I make it for my family because they enjoy it, but I tend to make it for myself when I am a little under the weather, or just feeling saudades. Canja is love in a bowl, like a great big warm hug, comfort at it's best. Like any portuguese dish, there are a million and one ways to make this. Some call for the use of cumin, others the addition of potatoes. This is how I make it, these simple flavors, are the closest to what my grandmother's  and my mom's Canja tastes like. Or I suppose, it might just be what my fondest memories taste like.

1978 Porto Martins~ My sister (looking at the camera) and I eating Canja and drinking a Pirolito, at my maternal grandparents house.

3 bay leaves

10 whole allspice

1 clove of garlic cut small/minced

1 medium onion finely diced

1/2 of a chicken ( or whole if you wish)

2 teaspoons of  sea salt ( salt and taste the water to your liking)

12 cups of water ( + 5 more cups, if needed to add during cooking the chicken)

½ cup of rice ( I like more rice, so I use 1 cup) short or long grain (I like long grain)

Put 12 cups of water, bay leaves, allspice, salt, garlic, onion, and chicken in a pot, cover with the lid. Bring to the boil.  Let boil until chicken is cooked, about an hour. During cooking time, check to see if you need to add, some water, as it will reduce as it boils. Remove the chicken when it's cooked, and shred or cut into bite-size pieces and set aside.  Now taste the broth, and adjust the salt to your liking. To the broth now add  in the rice, and let it cook for about 20 minutes, simmer on low heat. Do not cover with the lid, as this sometimes, will make it boil over.  After the 20 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and let it sit  for 15 minutes, the rice will finish cooking. At this time if you wish add in the shredded chicken or use for another dish. It´s now ready to serve! You can squeeze some lemon juice in your bowl, or I like it with a splash of vinegar.

** To the broth, if you feel you must add a cube or two of chicken stock, please do. When our grandmother's and their mother's made this soup, chickens and hens were raised in a differrent manner, and they had much flavor, this would reflect on the broth. Today poultry is raised differently, and let's face can be quite bland, so some stock will for sure add some richness to the broth. I don't add any to mine, because I like that it's a light broth, but like I said, add some if you wish.

** don't want to use rice, add some pasta shapes or noodles instead