Chicken Soup is still the best cure-all

Mar 19

Mar 19 Chicken Soup is still the best cure-all

I had to pick up my son from school just as the pandemic erupted. Before leaving I felt compelled to make soup just to have on hand. I’ve used a combination of recipes for years that started when my daughter was a baby. There was a cookbook called, “The Healthy Baby Meal Planner” whose combination of ingredients I always liked. More recently I started doing what the Barefoot Contessa did which is strain out the over boiled vegetables, then add in small cut up bits of just carrots, celery and sometimes turnip or parsnip. I adjust the seasoning with fresh parsley and dill and then salt and pepper. My friend, Rob told me he reuses all the boiled vegetables instead of throwing them out by pushing them through a strainer. I decided to try pureeing them in a food processor - it’s a little easier to do - but I loved the result! It makes for a much thicker and heartier soup which somehow feels even more restorative but I realize some people like their soup clear so I usually make a batch and keep some clear and some with the extra potage (that’s what I call those over boiled pureed veggies). I know not everyone is a fan of the thicker soup so this way I please everyone.

Chicken Soup is really a labor of love. It is quite the production. Once you boil the chicken and the vegetables you need to strain the broth. Then, depending on how much work you want to do, you puree the vegetables, skin and shred the chicken and chop up more veggies. I give that strained broth a day in the fridge so I can skim off the excess fat (you may want to leave some fat - it gives the soup that extra TLC that you need). After that, I reboil the broth and add in the small, bite sized pieces of vegetables, some dill and some parsley. When you are assembling the soup in quart containers you layer the chicken, potage, if you’re adding and then the (cooled down) soup and veggies. If you are a fan of noodles or matzo balls you can add those in as well. You do have the option of adding them in when you serve as well.

I’m paranoid about transferring hot soup into plastic containers so I wait the extra day to let everything cool down before transferring it. Then I label it, store some in my freezer for when I need it and keep some in the fridge for the week ahead.

Ingredients

For the Broth:

1 whole chicken (preferably organic or hormone free). Make sure you’ve removed the liver and neck if it came with the chicken

2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil

4 Parsnips

2 Turnips

6 carrots

1-2 leeks, depending on how big they are - the white part only

1 onion, roughly chopped

4 celery stalks

1 bunches of parsley

To complete the soup:

1 bunch of dill - chopped

1 bunch of parsley - chopped

4 carrots and 4 stalks of celery - all chopped into bitesized pieces

Kosher Salt & Freshly ground Pepper

Optional - some people like their soup with noodles. If you do you should have them ready to be added to the soup containers when you are assembling your quarts.

Directions

Coat a large soup pot with the Olive Oil. Add the chopped onion and saute until it is soft and not yet brown.

Add in the Chicken and all the vegetables. Add only one bunch of the parsley.

Fill soup pot up with water and boil. After it boils, put the flame on low and let simmer for 3 - 4 hours. You want the chicken to be almost falling apart when you are done. Let it cool down enough so you can take out the chicken and then shred the meat for the soup. Put that aside.

Strain out the vegetables / put broth into a heat resistant container that can be put in the fridge. I use stainless steel or glass bowls that have lids if I can’t fit my soup pot in the fridge. You will need to leave the broth in the fridge overnight or longer so that the fat rises to the top.

Puree the vegetables in the food processor, put aside.

The next day, take out your broth, strain most of the top layer of fat that has risen to the top. Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil. In the meantime you can add in the chopped vegetables, parsley and dill. Let it boil about 15- 20 minutes and then test the veggies. You do not want them to become too soft. Taste the broth / salt & pepper to taste. I usually don’t salt to my taste - you can always add more. When it is to your liking, let the soup cool down so you can put it into your containers (if you are storing).