Canja de galinhaPortuguese chicken soup

• 1 (about 1.8 kg)1 (about 4 lb) free-range boiling hen (galinha caseira), with its giblets, and any unlaid eggs inside it; or a large free-range chicken
• 3 l3 1/4 quarts cold water
• 1 onion, peeled, left whole
• 1 carrot, peeled; optional
• 1 tbsp olive oil, optional
• salt, to taste
• 150 g5 oz (about 1 cup) massa pevide (small seed-shaped soup pasta) or other small soup pasta, or 150 g / 3/4 cup short-grain rice
• 2 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped; only if the hen had no eggs
• 1 small bunch fresh mint (hortelã), leaves, to serve

Method

1. 1

   1. Clean the hen, trim off excess fat from the cavity, and rinse it with the giblets (heart, gizzard and liver).

2. 2

   2. Put the hen and giblets (keep the liver aside, it toughens with long cooking) in a large pot with the cold water, onion, carrot if using, oil and a teaspoon of salt.

3. 3

   3. Bring slowly to the boil and skim off the foam that rises in the first 10 minutes.

4. 4

   4. Lower the heat so the broth barely simmers, half-cover and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat comes away from the bone; add the liver and any unlaid eggs for the last 15 minutes.

5. 5

   5. Lift out the hen, giblets, eggs and carrot; strain the broth through a fine sieve and skim off some of the fat. You need about 2 l (8 1/2 cups).

6. 6

   6. Bring the broth back to the boil, taste for salt and add the pasta or rice.

7. 7

   7. Cook until the pasta is very soft, about 10 to 12 minutes for pevide, or 15 to 18 minutes for rice, stirring now and then.

8. 8

   8. Meanwhile remove the skin and bones and pull the meat into small shreds; chop the giblets, the carrot and the eggs (or the hard-boiled eggs).

9. 9

   9. Return the shredded chicken, giblets, carrot and egg to the pot and heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

10. 10

    10. Serve hot, with a few mint leaves torn over each bowl.