Chicken Soup for Liza

Chicken soup can cure anything. Sick? Hungover? Cold? Pissed because you picked the worst bagel place in New York City to stop at for a nosh before your long journey back to the bagel desert of Washington DC (on that note, just say no to Bagel Maven by Penn Station)? Yes, a thousand times yes. 

I am an avowed chicken soup fanatic. Chicken soup is a year-round staple for me and even though the weather has gotten "warmer" here, there's always an excuse for chicken soup. My excuse today was two-fold, my dear friend Liza has been begging me to walk her through the recipe and my mom has a cold. Since Liza might be my most loyal reader (and definitely my most loyal commenter) and my mother is my favorite person on the planet, I complied.

I am obsessed with the pursuit of pollo perfection. But like challah, I'm not the biggest fan of making the same recipe over and over again. Chicken soup for me is shaped by the seasons, what's in my fridge, and what I forgot to buy at the grocery store. All you really need is chicken, onions, garlic, pepper and parsley, a root veggie or two, a giant pot and the rest is up to you.

Another loyal reader, my good friend Allison (who is not an MOT) told me recently that she liked reading my blog because it made her feel like she had a Jewish grandmother. Allison, I promise you that this recipe will make your apartment smell like your imaginary Jewish grandmother just dropped in for a visit (love you Nini!).

My Favorite Chicken Soup

Adapted from Harriet Roth's Deliciously Healthy Jewish Cooking

Ingredients

1 (5-pound) whole chicken (taking out the liver and gross stuff in the chicken cavity)

4 quarts (give or take) cold water

3 medium onions, peeled, cut in half and cut into slices

1 leek, split lengthwise, washed, and cut into slices

1 parsnip or a Daikon radish, scrubbed, trimmed and cut into circles

5 celery ribs, cut into 2-inch pieces

6 carrots, peeled and cut into circles 1/4" thick

1/2 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley, tied with string (DO NOT USE STRING THAT HAS DYE IN IT. I'm sure you've seen Bridget Jones Diary and seen how that turns out.)

6 peppercorns (or several twists of your pepper grinder)

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped (optional)

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed slightly with the back of a knife

1 bay leaf (optional)

Salt to taste

1. Wash the chicken inside and out in cold running water. Place in a large stockpot and cover with enough cold water to cover the entire chicken. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to low and skim off the scum carefully for about 20 minutes, using a perforated flat spoon.

2. Add the onions, leeks, parsnip, celery, carrots, ginger, garlic and bay leaf. Simmer (on low heat), partially covered for 2 hours. 

3. Add the 1/2 bunch parley and the pepper and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes more, or until the chicken is tender. I also like to throw in matzo balls now if I'm making them, so that they have a chance to meld with the flavors of the soup.

4. This is where I break with tradition, call me crazy but I like vegetables and chicken in my chicken soup. The thing I won't stand for however, is bones in my soup. Remove the chicken from the soup using a slotted spoon and let the chicken stand on a cutting board until it's cool enough to cut up. Remove the skin from the chicken and cut up chicken into bit-size pieces. Return chicken to the soup. 

5. Remove peppercorns from the soup using a slotted spoon. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. 

6. Let the soup cool THEN refrigerate. If you just have to eat the soup right away I will not judge you, but trust me when I say that it tastes better the next day. 

7. Remove and discard the fat that has congealed on the top of the soup (I know, gross, but like scooping out bagels* a Jewish girl's gotta do what a Jewish girl's gotta do).

8. If you're ready to serve, bring the soup to simmer and throw in egg noodles (follow directions on the bag, they should be semi-cooked before going into the soup), boiled rice, or whatever you want at your discretion. I think this soup tastes great on it's own, and usually for breakfast with a delicious baguette.

*I've said it before this is not Sushi With My Girls and as such this does not constitute an endorsement of scooping out bagels.