Chicken Soup with Garlic, Saffron, Basil and Tomatoes

COMBINE the fennel, leek, carrot, turnip, mushrooms, and bouquet garni with the broth in a 4-quart pot. Simmer gently over medium heat until the vegetables barely begin to soften, after about 10 minutes.

ADD the tomatoes and chicken to the simmering soup. Make sure the chicken is completely submerged and simmer for about 20 minutes more. Take the chicken out of the soup with a slotted spoon and let it cool. Peel off the skin. If youre serving this soup as a main course, you may want to leave the chicken pieces whole; otherwise, pull the chicken away from the bone and cut it into chunks.

SPRINKLE the basil leaves with olive oil to keep them from turning dark and chop them finely with a chefs knife or in a blender. If you use a blender, you may have to add a little more olive oil to get the leaves moving.

Combine the chopped basil with the heavy cream.

PUT the chicken back in the soup along with the beans and spinach and simmer the soup for about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

PUT half the garlic and saffron mayonnaise in a mixing bowl and whisk in the hot soup.

Place a slice of French bread toast in the bottom of each wide soup bowl and ladle the soup over it. If youve left the chicken pieces whole, prop the chicken up on the toasts and ladle the soup over that.

Drizzle the top of each bowl with a tablespoon of garlic mayonnaise and a tablespoon of the basil cream. Pass the remaining mayonnaise and basil cream at the table.SUGGESTIONS AND VARIATIONS Almost any vegetable soup can be turned into a chicken soup by poaching pieces of chicken in the simmering soup about 15 minutes before serving. If you dont want to deal with the last-minute skinning and boning of the chicken, bone the chicken in advanceif you have time, make the broth with the bonesand then just add the boneless chicken meat to the soup about 5 minutes before serving.

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