Bowled over

Ingredients for 2 servings
Chicken stock: 1 kg
Chicken diced: 100 gm
Onions sliced: 20 gm
Carrots: 50 gm
Spinach juliennes: 50 gm
Celery chopped: 20 gm
Parmesan grated: 20 gm
Tortellini with mozzarella: 20 gm
Red pepper juliennes: 20 gm
Yellow pepper juliennes: 20 gm
Parsley: 20 gm
Salt and pepper: to taste
Preparation time: 20 minutes
In a pan,heat butter and add sliced onions. Sauté it till they become translucent and add celery and carrots. When they begin to soften,add the chicken stock and bring it to boil. In the meantime,stuff the sheets of tortellini with blobs of mozzarella. Add them to the boiling pot of stock. Add diced chicken to the broth and simmer it till the chicken is soft. Add spinach and season it with salt and pepper. Before serving,scoop in the red and yellow pepper juliennes for a crunchy mouthful and garnish it with parsley and Parmesan.

Preparing the tortellini
For the dough sheets
Flour refined: 400 gm
Eggs: 4
Extra virgin olive oil: 15ml
Salt: 10 gm
Mix all the ingredients and make a dough. Keep in the fridge and let it settle for four to five hours. Cut the dough into small balls and turn them into thin round sheets with a rolling pin.
For the filling
Mozzarella grated: 100 gm
Parsley chopped: 50 gm
Mix mozzarella and parsley,and stuff them between round sheets of dough. Fold the dough in half so that the filling remains in the centre. Dip your finger in water and run it along the edge to seal the filling. Flatten the edges and roll the outer side around your finger. Where the dough overlaps,give it a pinch with wet fingers so that it holds together. Place on a dry towel and repeat the process with the rest of the dough rounds and filling. Make five to six pieces per serving.

CHICKEN amp; ASPARAGUS SOUP
Chef Colaco suggests you bring in the goodness of asparagus to the boiling chicken broth for that perfect winter bowlful. All the ingredients are readily available at local grocery stores and the recipe is simple and filling. Skip the cream if you want it low on fat, he says. Also,dont overboil the chickenit should be moist and succulent.

Ingredients 2 servings
Boiled chicken diced: 150 gm
Butter: 70 gm
Onion chopped: 1
Celery chopped: 2 stalks
Flour: 5 tbsps
Chicken stock: 600 ml
Asparagus canned: 5-6 sticks
Cooking cream: 30 ml
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper: to taste
Preparation time: 15 minutes
In a saucepan,heat butter on low flame. Add the onions and celery. Cook till onions turn pink. Stir in the flour and further cook for two to three minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the boiled chicken dices,asparagus and cooking cream. Season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper and serve it hot with crusty buttered bread rolls.

HOMELY CHICKEN SOUP
If you are in a rush and can only settle for a quick-fix broth,chef and baker Kishi Arora,who runs Foodaholics,a bakery in Delhi,and also writes a blog by the same name,offers what she calls a no-recipe chicken soup. I put in just about any ingredient that is available at home. We often make it at my friends house when I am working late on my bakery orders, she says.

Ingredients 2 servings
Ready-to-use chicken stock: 2-3 cubes
Chicken,cut in cubes: 150 gm 1 cup
Water: 500 gm
Fresh corn: 2 small sizes or 1 large
blitz it in a processor for a creamy consistency
Readily available winter vegetables such as beans,carrots and cabbage all finely chopped: to taste
Salt and vinegar: to taste

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Add chicken stock to boiling water. Add to the stock the chicken cubes,corn,fresh vegetables,salt,black pepper and some soy and vinegar to taste.